Haunted Isle
by XcrazyXookamiX
Summary: The Strawhat crew lands on an island that quite literally, appeared out of nowhere. Luffy and Zoro go to explore the island, but they encounter an evil that has been waiting for this moment for cenutuires. It was time to bring chaos upon the world! ZoLu
1. Chapter 1

_Haunted Isle _

Luffy sighed for the tenth time in the single minuet that he has come out to his special spot on the head of the ram on the Going Merry.

Simply put, the captain was bored. Really, extremely bored.

He had tried to play with Chopper, but the reindeer was busy making Rumble Balls for future battles. Ussop was painting his new invention-and had made sure that the rubber man knew not to touch it-Nami making maps in her cabin, Robin reading, and Sanji was in the kitchen. Zoro was nowhere to be found, though Luffy felt confident that the swordsman was either training or sleeping.

Luffy sighed once more, his eyes scanning the seemingly endless sea for something; ANYTHING. But all the showed itself was a lone bird, lazily flying over head. Briefly, the rubber man contemplated stretching up to grab the bird so Sanji could cook it, but dismissed the thought when he realized that no one would be able to come get him if he missed the bird and fell in to the ocean.

"Soooooo, booooored!!!" Luffy cried, throwing his arms up in the air. He teetered on the ram for a moment, before he started to slide from his spot. The rubber man flailed his arms as he tried to regain his balance. Sadly, this proved to be futile as he landed on his back with a dull thud.

Luffy pouted up at the sky. Why couldn't something fun happen? He was itching to fight, or explore, or eat, but everyone was busy!! Another sigh escaped his lips and for a moment, he thought he sounded like Zoro, who sighed a LOT when he was around his crewmates. He got back to his feet and stared out at the sparkling sea. It was calm, and warm, and a nice breeze was blowing. All around, a beautiful day.

….It was taunting him!!!! How dare it! Luffy glared down at the sea. He was going to be the Pirate King, nothing should taunt him so! No matter how shiny, and pretty, and green, and fishy it was!! Just as he was about to throw something in the ocean, a dark spec appeared in the corner of his eye.

He looked up, and his mouth fell open. An island had miraculously materialized out of nowhere. It was to the east of the current direction the ship was going. That would have to change if they wanted to explore the island!! He told his nakama about the island in the only way he knew how.

"LAND AHOY!!!!"

The captain's exuberant voice easily carried throughout the ship. And everyone aboard knew to stay clear of Luffy, else he drag them with him on his new 'adventure.'

Luffy grinned and went to go find his first mate, deciding Zoro would have the privilege of going with him. He spotted Nami by her tangerine plants, and ran up the stairs to talk to her.

Nami, who had been watering her precious tangerines saw Luffy coming and almost ran away. She had heard his exclamation-really, who wouldn't?-but she has hoped that Luffy would leave her be and find someone else to pester. The navigator refrained from jumping in her plants to hide and turned to face her captain. She couldn't hide now, he has already seen her and now he skidded to a stop next to her.

"Nami! Have you seen Zoro?!"

The girl blinked, she had been bracing herself to face the puppy dog eyes when she denied going with her captain. Then a grin lit her face. She had noticed-along with everyone else-that Luffy has taken quiet the interest in the swordsman as of late. Well, more so the normal. It was painfully obvious that the rubber boy liked his first mate, and vice versa. The only ones that didn't seem to know were the two themselves. Though that was hardly surprising, they were waaaay too dense for their own good. The crew had tried to help the relationship along-because at first it had been cute when one of them would look at the other, blush, and look away, but now it was just freaking **annoying**-but nothing worked. Sanji even got Chopper to blatantly ask how they felt about gay sex. They both turned a hilarious hue of red when Chopper started to explain the working of gay sex in detail-you know, what to do, how to do it, make sure you use proper protection, stuff like that-an incredulous expression on both faces. Then they had promptly fainted on the spot. Zoro even has a small nose bleed. After that, the two had avoided each other like the plague, but the distance didn't last too long because a Sea King attacked and became a distraction.

Nami nodded, "He was training on the stern the last time I saw him."

Luffy thanked her, and ran towards his crush-even though he was too dense to realize it. _Have fun you two. Or else I just may have to charge you a thousand beli for every hour I spend tying to get you both together._ Money on the girls mid, she didn't notice that the island she had given the two permission to explore wasn't on any of her maps.

Zoro had just finished training a little bit ago, and now lay propped up against the railing of the boat, fully intending to take a nap.

It was a perfect day to do so. A nice cloudless sky, even if it was getting in to late afternoon and therefore a tad bit hotter. But a cool breeze blew softly, blowing across his sweaty skin like a caress. Combing that and the slightly humid temperature created a nice, comfortable atmosphere to do just about anything it. Like take a nap.

Just as the swordsman's body started to relax, a shout interrupted his peaceful silence.

"Zoro!"

The first mate instantly recognized the voice to be his captain's. Unfortunately his body was **too** relaxed to brace for the impact he knew was coming.

A small 'oof' escaped his lips as the rubber boy connected with him.

Zoro slightly opened an eye to glance at the monkey in his lap. Luffy was too busy making himself comfortable to notice the gaze on him. The first mate gave an inaudible sigh of content and closed his eye.

"Zoro." Luffy whispered. The swordsman could feel the rubber boy's warm breath upon his face. His lips tingled at the sensation, and he fought down a blush as his imagination conjured up am image of Luffy that would put Sanji's best fantasies to shame.

Zoro did admit to himself that he like his captain a little more than what was normal for a first mate and captain relationship. Of course, Zoro was confident that no one knew about his feelings as he was a master at concealing his emotions. Least of all, the oblivious rubber boy.

"Zooooroooo."

Said man almost grinned. Luffy sounded so childish at the moment that it was comical. He felt a finger poke his cheek, and couldn't stop the corners of his lips from slightly twitching upwards.

"Zoro, I know you're awake." Luffy whispered, a familiar butterfly feeling coming to life in his stomach. The wiggly feeling has been happening a lot lately, especially around Zoro. And yet, he couldn't figure out why. Was his tummy trying to send him a message about his first mate? Possibly, but what could it be?!

Zoro opened his eyes and looked directly at Luffy. Suddenly, the rubber boy actually felt sorta… **Shy**…. What was wrong with him?!?! He never felt shy. Why now? Why only around Zoro? He would need to talk to Chopper about it as soon as possible. His first mate was still staring at him, and Luffy squirmed a little under the gaze.

The swordsman watched as his captain wiggled around under his stare. Luffy looked shy for some reason that Zoro felt would be too complex to try and figure out at the moment with sleep still clinging to his conscious. He needed to be fully awake when dealing with the boy, so he didn't hurt himself.

Finally Luffy looked up at Zoro, his eyes big and round and so damn bright that Zoro felt that if he stared too long he would be hypnotized. He quickly snapped himself out of it when Luffy stuck his bottom lip out intonating his trump card.

It was the dreaded puppy dog eyes.

But the fact that the puppy dog eyes meant Luffy wanted something didn't stop the boy from looking as adorable and cute as—

Zoro almost blinked in shock. Since when did he use words like 'adorable' and 'cute'? He hadn't even been aware that they were part of his vocabulary until a moment ago. So, trying to salvage his manly image-even though nobody realized besides him realized that he might be turning in to a mini Sanji-Zoro promptly took those words and placed them in the little trash can in his brain where everything went that didn't seem important enough to remember. For example, Sanji giving him a lecture on the right way to treat a lady.

His mind concentrated back on Luffy as the boy opened his lips to speak.

"Zoro, will you go explore the island with me?!" It had obviously started out to be a question, but turned more in to an exclamation as Luffy became excited once more.

This time, Zoro did blink. Island? They'd reached an island? Seriously? When on Earth did that happen? He must have been in la la land longer than he thought. But other, more important questions came to surface. Why hadn't Luffy asked Chopper or Ussop? They were more likely to go with their captain.

As the first mate contemplated these very intriguing ideas, his eyes subconsciously roamed over the deck, and eventually Luffy became part of the little eye tour.

All thoughts froze in their tracks. One glance at that hopeful face, and the only thing inside Zoro's head was yes. Yes, he would be glad to explore with him.

"Sure." Zoro gave the rubber boy a small smile.

Luffy grinned widely, one word breaking the dam that contained his exuberance. Zoro had agreed, and now all that was on his mind was exploring the island.

"YATTA!!! Let's go!" Luffy grabbed his first mate's hand and dragged him to the bow of the Going Merry.

"Hold on a second Luffy!" Zoro tried unsuccessfully to stop his captain, "Have we even—"

The ship shuddered, its hull scraping against sand as it plowed itself in to the beach of the island.

Luffy didn't appear to notice, "We landed, which means we can go now!!"

Zoro sighed, and in an attempt to make sure a search party was ready to find them if they got lost-which was highly likely-said, "Shouldn't we at least tell the others we're leaving the ship?"

"Na?" Luffy blinked, looking like he hadn't thought of the idea. Actually, he hadn't, as he was sure he could handle anything and he trusted Zoro to hold his own. "Robin!" Luffy shouted, the woman being his closest nakama, "I'm going to explore the island with Zoro!"

"Alright captain-san. I'll tell the others." Robin smiled at the two as they headed off in to the island. While she remembered reading something vaguely disturbing about the island-if **was** even the correct one-she was confident that the two could handle whatever came their way. And it would give them so needed 'alone time.' Perhaps then they would stop acting like school girls with their first crush and hopefully become a couple and get rid of some of the tension that had been accumulating over the last few months on the ship. Why was there tension on the ship? Because it was weird-and slightly disturbing-to see your captain watching his first mate train, staring at him like he was ready to jump the poor swordsman right then and there. She hoped that this little adventure gave the two the opportunity to show their feelings to each other, raw and open, without worrying about getting caught doing 'naughty' things. If the experience turned out to be fruitless however, then Robin thought she might just accidentally slam their faces together to get the two to at least kiss.

"Zoro, look at this!!" Luffy shouted, pointing to a strange looking bird. It had two small wings, a large black and red beak, and it was covered in smooth looking orange feathers.

….Yes, **orange.** Zoro himself felt this odd. What kind of bird had orange feathers? But then again, ever since stepping foot in to the forest on the island they had seen all kinds of odd creatures. Such as a large mammal the seemed to be the result of cross-breeding with elephants and mountain lions. It had huge ivory tusks, big, floppy ears, golden fur, bright green intelligent eyes (that locked on to them very much like a predator does to its prey), talon like claws that looked sharp enough to cut through rock, and finally, a nice set of chompers that seemed so viciously razor sharp and very pointy that they might just be able to crush a sharks teeth in to dust. After the mysterious and scary thing growled at them, they ran off, not willing to take the risk of fighting with the large-at least 3 stories-mammoth.

The two had encountered many more strange wonders and Zoro figured that the whole island must be some sort of exotic reserve for animals. The foliage of the island also turned out to be just as unusual. Long vines covered with pointy barbs-Luffy had generously found out exactly _how_ pointy when he ran in to one-bulbous flowers in hues of green, blue, and purple. And many more that he couldn't describe. Of course, this had enthused his captain to continue to go deeper in to the forest, even going so far as to ignore his stomach for the time being.

A loud squawk, sounding like a mix between the firing of a cannon ball and growling abused the swordsman's ears.

Zoro glanced over at Luffy to find him with the lower half of the bird inside him mouth, and trying to shove the rest in. Apparently, he wasn't too enthusiastic to miss a meal. The bird, obviously, didn't appear pleased with having something trying to eat it, and had clamped its beak down on Luffy's cheek and pulled. The skin stretched as far as the bird could pull its head back—almost a full one hundred and eighty degrees.

The first mate held back a laugh as his captain continued to try and devour the poor bird. Said bird, seeing that biting Luffy wasn't working, resorted to pecking feverishly at Luffy's face. This caused the rubber boy to squeal, then growl as he quickly spit out the bird to prevent his eyes getting pecked out. Literally.

By this time, Zoro was shaking with restrained laugher. Luffy pouted, knowing his first mate was laughing at him.

But as Zoro caught sight of his captain's face, he couldn't hold back his laughter and was soon reduced to having support himself by placing a hand on a nearby tree. Soon he was laughing uncontrollably; the image was too hilarious **not** to laugh. Luffy's face was covered in small, red dots that resembled the chicken pox.

The swordsman only attempted to quell his chuckles, giggles, and gasps for air when he saw the pout and the rubber boy whined, "Zooooroooo!!"

Zoro coughed a few times, and took a couple deep breaths. Finally, he calmed down enough to only chuckle every now and then.

He felt a tug on his free hand, "Come on Zoro, we've got to explore the rest of the island!"

The first mate glanced up at the sky. They had left around mid afternoon, but there had still been plenty of light left before sundown. Now it looked as though it was almost dark.

"Luffy, don't you think we should be heading back soon?"

"B-But Zoro!! We haven't sent he whole island yet!"

"I know, I know. But it's getting pretty dark out, and soon we'll be walking at night. And you know it'll be harder to fight if we need to. If we don't leave now, we'll be in unfamiliar territory at night, with no idea if it has human inhabitants and if something will be likely to attack us." As the first mate gave his small speech, he saw Luffy beginning to make the dreaded, accursed face.

Zoro steeled himself. He was not, under any circumstances, going to let Luffy continue to explore. He knew his captain knew how dangerous it was, and knew that Luffy would more than likely not care. The rubber man had such confident in their strength that nothing could beat them that he wasn't worried. Still, the swordsman thought it wise to turn back and leave the adventure for tomorrow morning. He would NOT let Luffy rope him in to continuing the trip.

The puppy dog eyes came out, and it seemed that Luffy had cranked up the cute meter as Zoro was almost blinded by the cuteness. _Resist! Resist! _Zoro's mind kept chanting, not willing to give in. But the puppy dog eyes **always **win, and the swordsman's iron will crumbled like a cookie.

"Fine, fine. We won't go back yet." He grumbled, his pride taking a blow at the way he so easily caved.

Luffy gave an exuberant cry, and pulled the hand he had taken hold of to drag his first mate to see the rest of the island.

Well, at least, he tried.

Zoro hadn't gone anywhere. The rubber man tried again, but found that the swordsman wasn't budging in the least. The two looked at each other in confusion before coming to the same conclusion: Zoro was stuck.

His hand was stuck to the tree he had been using to hold up his weight. Zoro sighed. Karma. This was punishment for laughing at Luffy. He just knew it was. Instead of thinking up ways of maiming karma, he decided to do something useful. He gave an experimental tug with his arm. Nothing.

"Luffy, I think we have a problem."

"Don't worry, I'll get you out!" With that, Luffy wrapped his arms around Zoro's waist and planted both feet firmly on the ground in such a way to give him the most leverage.

"On three. One, Two, Three!" Captain and first mate pulled at the same time. Still nothing.

A small tug-of-war commenced between the boys and the tree. Suddenly, after a rather violent pull, the attempts to get the tree to relinquish Zoro's hand paid off. With a loud suction like noise, they flew back a few feet, before landing next to each other on the ground.

Zoro groaned and rubbed his head with the hand that didn't get its skin ripped off. As he tried to stand up, he noticed that there was some kind of yellow glop on his hand that had been trapped. Thin strands of said glop stretched from his hand back to the tree. It must be some kind of tree sap, he decided.

"Ewww." Luffy grimaced, openly expressing what he thought of the sticky substance.

The swordsman fought back his own grimace. The glop definitely qualified to being 'ew' worthy. Not only did it look gross, but a strong stench of burned manure wafted up his nasal passage. Okay, now it was on the, 'Holy shit I'm going to barf!' stage of disgustingness.

Luffy was already up on his feet and about fifty yards away.

"Luffy, help me up!" Zoro saw his captain's nose scrunch up at the thought. He wasn't even sure how he could see the action, but he knew it was pretty damn cute.

The first mate's eye twitched slightly. He had used to the 'cute' again. Add pretty to it now to. What the hell was wrong with him? He wasn't going to start swooning over Luffy like some idiot-Sanji-was he?! But he sighed, resigned to figure out the problem of his manliness later.

"I don't want to get near your icky hand! Can't you get up yourself?!"

Zoro snorted the why-do-I-bother-trying-to-reason-with-a-crazy-person snort. He didn't want to get stuff stuck to his hand, which he was more than likely to do if he got up himself. But he didn't say that, he just said, "Just get your ass over here and help me up!"

The rubber boy pouted, "Fine. But only 'cause I like Zoro!"

The swordsman had to hold back a grin. Luffy bounded over and stopped in front of his first mate. Zoro grasped the hand thrust in his face with the non-icky hand and hauled himself to his feet. "Thanks captain."

Luffy grinned, "You're welcome!" Then his eyes widened and grabbed Zoro's shoulders to stop the boy from moving. "Don't move." Came the whispered command.

"Luffy?" Zoro replied nervously, "What's going on?"

"You've got a **huge** butterfly on your head."

Now that the rubber boy mentioned it, Zoro did feel a tingling sensation on his scalp, as though something was moving around on his head. His hand moved to slap at it, but Luffy swatted the offending arm down before it could get too far.

"Oooh, it looks so pretty!!" Luffy gazed at the abnormally large bug with fascination. Slowly he raised both arms. Zoro glanced at them out of the corner of his eyes.

"Luffy, what are you doing?" Whispered the swordsman as a nervous feeling settled in the pit of his stomach. He had the odd impression that something bad was going to happen. Something that only _he_ would experience, and he had a sneaking suspicion that it would involve bodily harm.

"I'm going to try and catch it!" Luffy whispered back, eyes trained on the butterfly. The nervousness became a lead ball in his stomach.

Suddenly, a loud roar erupted from the forest, piercing the lull that had come over the pair.

Both Luffy and Zoro jumped, thinking that the same animal that had stared at them like they were pieces of meat free to eat was going to jump out of the bushes and pounce on them. Luffy, in his surprise, slapped his hands together prematurely, effectively sandwiching the swordsman's face between them.

With a grunt, Zoro doubled over, holding his newly ringing ears and stinging cheeks. The butterfly, safe from harm, hovered lazily over his head.

"Ah! Mr. Butterfly!" Luffy cried as said bug flew away. He soon started after it.

Zoro opened his eyes, and growled in irritation, "Luffy!" He chased after his sprinting captain. The boys, temporarily distracted-one following a big butterfly, the other following the trouble making monkey-failed to notice that they were straying from the path that they had followed in to the island, and were going deeper to the heart of the forest.

Crimson eyes glowed in a darkness that could only be compared to the inky black of midnight, with no moon nor stars glowing to guide a loss soul. The birthplace of evil.

A low hissing sound filled the small expanse of the old church in which the creature lived. A snake, the color of camouflage, appeared before its master. Candles that hadn't been lit in over a few centuries suddenly burned brightly, as though a force was urging them to expend their life force, the small wick atop the candle head.

The python bowed its head, golden eyes flashing in fear before being replaced with disgust, and finally a resigned lost look dominated them.

"How are the two facing in my house?" A voice came through the silence. A voice that screamed of death. A voice that belonged to an old evil. A voice that promised pain if something went wrong with its plans. The snake briefly wondered if that's what it would be like to be in a black hole deep in space, before answering his master.

"They have come across a Phantion, but it didn't do anything. They seem to be oblivious of our existence sire. In fact, they're heading to the wall as we speak." Hissed the snake.

A humorless laugh resounded throughout the church. "Good, good. Everything is coming together. Soon, I will be free. Soon I will once again roam the Earth. Soon I will take my revenge against the human beings that destroyed me. And soon, disaster will rein once more!"

The flames from the candles danced, responding to the creature's thirst for blood. Teeth gleamed in the light. Sharp, pointed teeth that would rip apart steel if provoked. Master is grinning, the snake thought idly. Grinning with such rancor that it seeped off of the creature like a horrid stench.

The large, pointed teeth snapped open and closed. And it gave another laugh filled with the promise of impending doom. It echoed in the silence surrounding the church long after the flames died out.


	2. Chapter 2

Ah, I finished this Sunday, but FF was having problems and I couldn't upload it. Gomen. But YAY! ISH GOT THE SECOND CHAPPY OUT!!! I have decided to contine this as I originally planned it, therefore, it will probably be less than 10 chapters. I thank all of my reviewers, I appreciate them greatly!! ^_^ The next chapter I upload will be for my One Piece: Adventures of Kyra Warai story. Enjoy, and critisism is allowed! By the way, I do my best to catch mistakes, but I always miss some, so forgive me for my grammar and spelling errors!

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Zoro dodged through the think foliage as best he could. Still, he managed to keep sight of his oh so impulsive captain while being smacked in the face by stubborn branches that wouldn't bend to his manly power very well.

"Luffy!" He called, and silently hoped that with as much ruckus they were making they wouldn't attract something's attention.

Luffy was set on catching the elusive butterfly. It would not escape him again! Faintly, he heard Zoro's voice calling to him, but didn't pay any attention because nothing would stop him from claiming his prize! Nothing dammit! Not even his first mate calling to him.

His tongue stuck out slightly as he tried to grab Mr. Butterfly with his finger tips. Closer…. Closer…. So close….. Almost there…..

The butterfly suddenly vanished in a flash of white light.

_Wha-?_He stopped, feet churning up dust as they slid across the ground at the sudden loss of momentum. Luffy twisted his head, desperately searching for the butterfly that had so enticed him.

"Luf-!"

"WAH!!" The rubber man cried as Zoro plowed head first in to him. They fell forward, Luffy landing on the dirt ground as the swordsman landed on his back.

He groaned, "Zoro, why'd you do that?"

His first mat grunted, before getting up, "Well if you hadn't chased after a friggen' bug we wouldn't be here…."

The captain pouted, "But it was a big bug! A really pretty, really big bug!"

"Whatever." Zoro rubbed his head, which ached from the fall. He paused at the brief moment of silence that suddenly engulfed the two. Stealing a glance at the rubber boy, he noticed the slightly awed look in his eyes.

"Zoro, look." Came Luffy's excited whisper. The swordsman turned to look at what had so obviously humbled his captain. The sight took his breath away.

The forest gave away to a large clearing. Lush green foliage meeting swamp-like earth. Scores of stone walls dotted the area. Most crumbling into a fine dust that seemed to coat the air, thickening it and at the same time, making the air shimmer and glitter with fine particles. But the most magnificent and utterly terrifying scene stood grandly before them.

Two wide and tall walls rose up from the soft mud-incrusted ground, towering above the tallest pine trees that surrounded the clearing. The blueish gray stones that made up the walls were noticeably bigger than those of the rest of the degenerating ruins around them. Thin dark green vines that were born at the bottom slowly weaved their way through the stones creating a winding pattern that had to cover both sides of the walls. Upon these vines sat sharp, vicious looking thorns that seemed eager to penetrate skin and wound anything that would dare come in contact with it. Like a barrier almost.

But the most unnerving feature of the walls were the large, single stained glass windows that took up a good portion of the walls' mammoth size. Beautiful reds, blues, yellows, greens, and violets shone bright with the fading light. The glass sparkled and gleamed creating a nice shine that drew attention to the terrifying story that unfolded on the innocent angles and curves. A dark figure depicted in a dark brown stood tall over a village. The blue villagers ran with faces painted in never ending horror. Crimson red dripped from the monsters' mouth as a bloody leg protruded from sharp, pointy teeth, formed in a great happy smile. The black eyes sparkled with malice.

The other window in the right wall portrayed the monster screaming, mouth opened in a howl that definitely contained pain and sorrow. But it didn't deter the figures in black cloaks that surrounded the creature, their fingers pointing towards the monster acting as a conductor. Electric blue light sprouted from the finger tips, wrapping around the monster in a cage like manner. The light was dragging the villagers' tyrant toward a large doubled door gate. IT was decorated with two skeletons propped up by flying creatures with ugly faces scrunched up in glee at the prospect of getting a new victim. Behind the gate a fire burned eternal, licking at the fur of the monster, caressing in such a way that when in reach, the flames would grip the creature with the intent of never ever letting go. Letting the monster be burned for all eternity.

The wonderful colors shone down on the two teenagers with the fading light, casting an orangish radiance over everything. Shadows elongated and Zoro gazed at the portraits in a daze that bordered on obsession. The light made the windows glow like two eyes in a dark void. They pierced his very soul, reaching to the deepest corners of his mind. Searching. Searching for anything, anything at all that would give it reason to attack and repel the man back to where he came from. Searching for that one little whisper of doubt saying that it was all just a bad dream, nothing this nightmarish was real. Searching to see if he was a believer.

Zoro stared at them, and a warning echoed within his mind that wasn't apart of his own psyche. It warned of something horrid that resided deep inside that clearing. Something so powerful and evil, no human imagination could ever comprehend the destruction the being was capable of. Something that scared the human race enough to seal it away for ever, hoping to get rid of the everlasting imprint the thing left burned in to their minds. Hoping to forget all about it, hoping to never see it again, and hoping against hope that it would never break free and terrorize them again. Hoping that time would eventually kill it, like it was doing to the ruins, but knowing deep in their hearts that someday, somehow, it would be freed.

Zoro shivered. His instincts were screaming at him to run as fast as he can away from the clearing, back to the ship and leave the island behind. His flight or fight reflexes seriously wanting to fly right out of the cursed forest and get his captain away from the dark aurora emitting from the walls.

And yet, at the same time, he felt compelled to walk through the broken and shattered debris, to run his fingers of the hundreds of year old walls and figure out why it seemed that something so very tragic happened there. He wanted to see the monster that the stories warned of, to see if it really was as terrible as the said. And with some kind of gross fascination, he wanted to see if the creature had died, leaving it's innards behind to be picked at by all the wild animals.

All in all, it was just the type of thing that Luffy would want to explore.

And sure enough, his captain broke the silence that had dominated over the two with a much too happy exclamation for the sober atmosphere the ruins implied.

"Zoro, let's go!" With that, the young rubber man started in to the clearing.

Zoro followed him. No matter how much his instincts screamed at him to run, he couldn't leave Luffy to face something potentially deadly. And he doubted that his captain would listen to him anyway, Luffy was too blinded by the prospect of a new adventure to care about his safety. Deciding that he would be on high alert, the swordsman warily gazed around the clearing at the forest. Something was amiss, he couldn't quite figure it out, but the place gave him a bad feeling. Shrugging off the concern for the moment-as nothing seemed to jump out at him soon-he let his urge from earlier take over, and swept a hand along one of the stones nearest him.

It actually started to crumble from the force of the light graze of his hand, proving that the ruins were indeed, ancient. Bending down, he stuck his pointer finger in the ground, noting how much softer the soil was in the clearing then the forest. It had to have been soaked many times in order for it to become so supple, and he lifted his finger out, examining the dirt that had stuck to his skin. It looked like regular dirt, granted slightly wetter then normal. Black eyes picked up on little details, such as how many small fragments of pebble were in it, and the way it seemed to disintegrate, much like the stones. Nothing out of the ordinary, expect a darker tint in the soil.

He hadn't needed to be concerned; after all, the only thing that would stain **soil** is blood….. _Blood?!_Could this be some sort of ancient burial ground? Were ghosts of those sacrificed going to float up and attack him and Luffy at any moment, now that they were separated? Shit, Luffy! Where was Luffy?! The place screamed of danger, they really should just hurry up and leave then come back with the rest of the crew tomorrow morning.

Zoro took a deep breath, berating himself in his mind. He was being paranoid. There was no way that it was blood that stained the ground. And if it was, more likely then not, it probably belonged to an animal. He needed to stay calm and keep his wits about him. Other wise he wouldn't be able to sense any incoming danger, and that could prove rather fatal.

"Zoro, come look at this!" The voice easily carried to the swordsman, and he turned to hurry to his captain. Following the sound, Zoro noticed his surroundings change into what might have once been a courtyard.

"What is it Luffy?" He asked.

The rubber boy didn't answer, there was no need to. Zoro found out why his captain sounded so excited as soon as he glanced in front of him. Cement stones littered the ground, ranging from ground height, to above Zoro's head. They were worn and withered, like the rest of the ruins. A sense of foreboding came over the swordsman. There, right in front of them, was a graveyard.

Luffy took a step in and Zoro reluctantly followed, seeing that no matter how old the gravestones were, they stood strong and proud, as though they felt accomplished at marking where a corpse lay. Most of them were quite plain in design, simply saying the person's name, date of birth, and the day he/she died. Eyes roaming around the necropolis, a certain headstone caught his attention.

Moving closer, Zoro inspected the tall structure. The statue of what appeared to be a samurai holding his sword high in victory was a marvelous creation. The details were simply astounding. The chest plate had individual bolts and chain mail. It was decorated with a javelin running through a ying-yang symbol. The nails that connected the chest plate to the metal shoulder pads were plain as day and small intricate weaves of some cloth like material pronounced the broad shoulders and lean body structure. But the most fascinating aspect was the samurai's face. Wrinkles along the forehead and eyes gave the impression of the warrior being a pleasant man-while not in battle of course-and the small hairs of the eyebrows stood out above the indented eyelids. The expression had a sort of triumphant gleam, and the eyes shone with the fire of fighting, excitement, and the achievement of victory.

Evidently, the samurai the statue was made after was in his prime when he died, a strong and noble flame of youth that was snuffed out much too early.

Zoro turned to tell his captain about the great find-when suddenly the hairs on the back of his neck prickled and tingled with unseen electricity. He was struck with the notion that somebody was watching them. A somebody that had a not-so-innocent aura.

Setting a hand on Wado, he quickly went to stand besides Luffy-who seemed oblivious to the tension radiating off his first mate in waves. The need to escape from the clearing rose dramatically.

Zoro grabbed his captain by the arm, "Luffy, we need to-" a cold, detached laugh reverberated through air, sending small fissures of pressure through everything and anything.

The laugh brought with it realization-Zoro finally figuring out what had seemed so off about the clearing. No sound. No animals moving through dense undergrowth, not even the whisper of the wind. Why the hell wasn't there any sign of life here?

Because of the laugh, Zoro concluded, the someone that created the chilling noise must have scared off all living things inside the clearing. The swordsman tried to find the source of the sound, but it seemed to come from all directions, slowly edging its way in to his mind, bouncing off his skull and ringing with malicious intent.

It overpowered all thought process, becoming the only thing that seemed real. Visions flashed in random sequence past his mind's eye. Memories full of anger, pain, regret, and most of all: fear.

Then Zoro was at his old dojo, standing at the bottom of a staircase. A figure appeared at the very top, and a scream ripped through the silent air. Kuina's body fell backwards down the stairs, her arms flailing frantically trying to grab onto something, anything, for a desperate last ditch effort to live. He watched as her body crumpled and folded in ways that were sure to break every bone in a person's body. Watched as his rival become much like a rag doll tossed in the air. Watched as she finally reached the bottom and registered a loud snapping sound. She landed on the floor in front of him with her soulless eyes staring blankly at him, head bent at an angle that seemed physically impossible. As Zoro stared he felt bile boiling up his throat, but before he could release it, Kuina's eyes locked with his own.

They pulled him in to a void of swirling darkness. He could see nothing. The blackness was all around him, circling him, devouring him. Tendrils of the churning mass grasped at his limbs, slowly trying to pull him apart. Zoro yanked at his arms, trying to free himself, but the grip was much too strong-just like a small toddler trying to move a concrete block. The cloud curled up toward his mouth, drifting at a leisurely pace, seemingly at ease with the prospect of suffocating the young man. Just as the first wisps of darkness touched his lips, a bright light flared up in the distance. It became larger and brighter as it got closer, soon taking the form of a human. Smog poured into his lungs, and his chest convulsed violently. His vision started to blur. When he tried to breath in air, to relieve the burning in his chest cavity, more of the deadly darkness flowed in and he chocked. His throat tightened and he tried to cough, but nothing happened.

Zoro was dying, and he couldn't do anything to help himself. His movements became sluggish, his spirit weakening as his life was slowly snuffed out. Dead eyes locked onto the glowing figure. It was his beacon of light, the only hope he had left of staying alive. He felt the welcoming sleepiness of unconsciousness tugging at the back of his mind. The figures featured became more apparent. But the temptation of getting rid of the burning sensation, the pain of being helpless, was overriding his stubbornness to live. His eyes started to slide closed as the figure came in to view. Blearily, he glanced up at his beacon of hope. The only reason that he might survive.

A straw hat and black eyes with a small scar underneath the left eye registered in his head. That insane grin that made everyone he came in contact with trust immediately shone on his face. _Luffy…._ The name echoed in his mind as he slipped into unconsciousness.

_Luffy….. Luffy….. LUFFY!!! _Black eyes snapped open. What was happening to Luffy? Was he okay? Was his captain going through the same torture as he was? Zoro needed to get to Luffy. He would never let the rubber boy die. Not if he could do something to help. His resolution to save Luffy from the same fate that he had resigned himself to a moment ago let power flow in to his limbs. And the spark of life that had dwindled down to almost nothing flared up again. The smog that had been suffocating him flowed out at the surge of Zoro's will to live-transforming him into a hulking figure who could easily lift ten tons. And with a ferocious cry, he wrenched his limbs away from the whirling mass of darkness.

He wasn't going to leave Luffy alone.

The shining figure of hope stepped in front of him, banishing the darkness that twisted at his feet. A glowing hand reached out, and Zoro grasped it. As soon as the two touched, a blinding light burst outward, eliminating the darkness.

With a gasp, Zoro opened his eyes.

Twilight had fallen, and some stars were already out, eager to show off their light.

His heart pounded against his rib cage, and sweat rolled off his forehead. He realized that he was lying down on the ground, facing towards the sky. He could feel the sogginess of the soil soaking into his shirt. The statue of the samurai stood to his left, and Zoro grabbed at it, pulling himself into a sitting position. Taking calming breaths, he gazed about, trying to find his captain. And saw him standing rigid, his eyes shadowed by his famous hat.

Those deep breaths caught in his throat as he realized Luffy wasn't moving. Adrenalin kicked in, and he quickly stood up. Zoro clutched at the stone sword of the samurai as a wave of dizziness assaulted him. As soon as the ground stopped tilting abnormally, he made his way over to Luffy. He grabbed the teen's shoulder. "Luffy." No response. "Luffy!" He started to shake his captain frantically. Still no reaction. "LUFFY!" Fearing that he may have been too late, Zoro made a impulsive decision. The sound of the slap rang out through the air, breaking the heavy silence.

"Zoro?" Came the quiet gasp. The swordsman's heart started pumping once more, and his shoulders sagged with the relief of knowing that he hadn't been too late. "Zoro…"

Zoro looked down in shock as the small body fell against him in exhaustion. And the desire to get away from the clearing flowed back into his system. Picking Luffy up bridal style, he ran through the headstones, past the old ruins and finally through the two stone walls that they had entered at.

He ran as fast as he could, branches tearing at his skin as he whipped past and leaves falling to the ground. Long vines entangled themselves in Zoro's legs, almost tripping him. It was like they were trying to drag the two back to the ruins. Back to the nightmare that would surely await them. Ripping his legs free, he continued to run in a random direction. Making enough noise to let any predator know where they were. Over time his feet started to slow, weariness becoming overpowering, until he stopped completely. He set Luffy down, who had been clinging to him the whole distance. Zoro watched as his captain sat down on a nearby stump. It was almost certain something had happened to him as well, but the traumatized look on Luffy's face was enough to make Zoro believe that whatever the rubber boy had experienced, it was worse then his own.

Leg muscles burning with the action, the swordsman walked over to Luffy, kneeling down in front of the teen. "Luffy?"

Those black eyes didn't look up, just stared unblinkingly at the ground. Zoro waited, hoping that Luffy would say something, anything in the silence that followed the unspoken question: _Are you alright?_

Just as Zoro was breaking from the tension of waiting for a response, Luffy spoke to him. "I-I'm fine…." And he looked up at Zoro with a heart-wrenchingly fake smile.

Zoro's eyes softened, "You're not fine Luffy. You and I both know something happened back there."

"I'll get over it."

The swordsman's lips formed into a frown. He wanted to say something, but he didn't want Luffy to close up either. So he waited in silence once more. And slowly, Luffy's smile dropped resembling more and more of what he actaully felt then the facade he had initiated ealier. He sighed quietly before turning his eyes to the ground, not able to face his first mate's knowing gaze.

The hush between the two stretched on, Zoro content to let Luffy deal with his conflicting emotions until he felt ready to say what happened. It was almost as though the whole forest was sitting with baited breath to see what would occur.

Finally, Luffy broke the calm, "I saw it…"

The swordsman blinked, did Luffy mean the darkness? He waited patiently for the other to speak again.

"It was horrible." He shivered, but continued, hugging his arms around himself. "I was looking at this really cool gravestone with a ship on it when that laugh came. I thought that I could just beat up whoever was, but then…." Luffy's voice quivered slightly, and he took a deep breath to steady himself, "Then it was like I was stuck in my head and… **It** came to me."

It? Zoro's brow wrinkled. It seemed like Luffy had a whole different experience then he had. He shifted closer, feeling that whatever Luffy was going to say next would be utterly important.

"It was a… A thing. Like half human and half some sort of creature. It had big, gleaming, solid red eyes. Its face was sort of, pointy, like a triangle. The teeth looked sharper than Arlong's, and were probably just as strong. Then it laughed, the same laugh from before, and licked its' lips. The tongue was long and thin almost like a snake's, except not forked. And it spoke to me in a voice that was so gravelly and cold it was like it didn't care about anything. It told me that-" He stopped, voice cracking. Worried, Zoro shifted closer still. Luffy resumed talking again, voice an octave quieter than before, "It told me…

"_You're just a kid. Too naïve and foolish to even know what your friends truly think of you."_

"_What do you mean? My friends like me. Though I can't say the same for you; you're too ugly." He said, taking a fighting stance, intending to kick its' ass._

"_Oh? Is that what you think?" It laughed again, "You amuse me human. Let me fill you in on a little secret. You're friends think you're an idiot. They don't want you to be their captain, you'd be better off as a cabin boy. They're just waiting for the slightest slip up to toss you aside and take over the ship."_

"_What? You're wrong ugly-butt! My friends would never do that!"_

"_Wouldn't they?" It grinned, "Don't they all call you an idiot? Don't they all find something wrong and hit you for it? And if they don't, they're certainty thinking about it."_

"_SHUT UP! They're my nakama! They wouldn't betray me!" Yet there was a hint of doubt in the voice._

"_But they will!" It cried joyously, "And do you know which one will lead the revolt? Which one despises you the most?"_

"_None of them!"_

"_Still in denial eh? But you know. You know that there is one person who wants you gone the most." It cackled with such coldness that the snowy mountains of Drum were dwarfed in comparison. _

"_No I don't…" But it felt like he did know. He knew who the person was, and it was ripping his heart out._

_It was suddenly standing right beside him, whispering the name in his ear, mocking him "Zoro…"_

"_No…" He chocked out. Pain obvious in his voice. "No…"_

_It laughed again._

"_NO!!!" He cried desperately, vainly hoping that It was wrong. Zoro wouldn't betray him._

_And It grinned once more, showing sharp, pointed canine teeth. It bit down into the soft flesh at the base of his neck, easily puncturing the skin. He could feel every tear of muscle, every strand of skin breaking as the sharp teeth pierced his jugular vein. Blood flowed from the wound easily, dripping from Its mouth as it sucked up the red nectar. It released his neck, stepping back, "Hmm, delicious." And It smiled. A deadly smile._

_Far away, through the haze that clouded his mind, he wondered why it was so easy to kill someone. Simply stick something sharp into someones' neck and watched as the crimsion liquid poured out, slowly diminishing the life force of the wounded person. Is this what death feels like? This emotional detachment as you observe your own soul dying. He couldn't feel **anything**. Surely someone would come to save him? It wasn't right was it? _

_Meanwhile, It was busy contemplating how to eat its new meal. "Maybe roasted? I know I can get some glaze from some of the flowers.... Or perhaps a nice barbecue?" Then It raised a clawed hand, ready to slice his head clean off…._

"…. And then Zoro woke me up and took me away." Luffy finished.

Zoro couldn't believe it. How could he have let that stupid hallucination or whatever it was make him forget about Luffy?! Betrayal was the worst thing someone could do to his captain. He was so caught up in his fear, that he left the rubber boy to face such an evil alone, with no one to reassure him, to rescue him.

"Luffy…." Zoro whispered, voice full of hidden emotion. His captain was sitting there, shoulders slouched, arms around his waist, and looking, so… So broken that it practically broke Zoro's heart. Luffy was supposed to be unbreakable, always strong and a source of comfort for everyone. But right now, he was letting his vulnerability show, and Zoro just wanted to hold him in his arms and protect him. Protect the strong captain with all that he had to make sure that nothing hurt him like this again. He wanted to make all of those feelings of anguish and pain went away, to see that smiling face once more. To see Luffy's black eyes shine with happiness as he looks at his nakama. He wanted…. He wanted to just hug him. Hug him and never let go.

And Zoro did.

Luffy let out a small gasp as he felt strong arms encircle him, gently holding him against a warm, muscled chest. "Zoro?...."

The swordsman didn't say anything. There was no need to. The two had never really needed words to express their thoughts to each other, and now was no different. Luffy could feel himself relaxing in his first mate's grip, and let the warmth soak into his skin, bringing a sense of comfort that only Zoro was capable of.

He wrapped his arms around his first mate and buried his head in the chest even more, snuggling to the swordsman. The same warmth that let him relax was easing the tormoil of emotions inside him. Luffy let out an involuntary sigh of content, feeling safe inside those strong arms.

The message was loud and clear. Zoro would protect him for as long as he could. And more importantly: Zoro would never leave him.

And he knew in his heart it was true.


	3. Chapter 3

Hey all! Soooooo, this chapter is really extremely late and I'm sorry about that! I could give you excuses, like tennis started in March and I haven't had too much time to type because of that(which is true mind you)but another reason is that I've just been lazy. And I kind of lost interest in this story for a little while, but now I'm back! Before I start my long, unnecessary ramble, I'd like to thank everyone who reviewed! Sorry I had you guys waiting so long! How many of you liked my horror in the last chapter? *Nudges reader* Eh? Eh? *Giggles* This one won't have much horror in it sadly, but the next chapter will! *Grins* I'm also sorry to say that this chapter is really very crappy, nothing really happens in it, not to mention how short it is! But it's an informational chapter that just had to be done! I'm sorry about its suckishness. I think I may have rushed it a bit and the characters seem OOC to me—especially Zoro-kun at the end. Oh, and for some stupid reason, my computer won't let me login to FF. I'm not sure why, but it's been going on for sometime now, I don't know if I'll ever be able to long in again. So, as such, a good friend of mine is going to be posting my stories and stuff to help you guys get your daily fix of yaoi! And I'll be doing a 'Reviewer's Reply' thing in the beginning as well. Once again, I apologize for the lamness and crappiness of this chapter. And please forgive my bad spelling and grammar, one person can only do so much.

**All-the-good-ones-get-impaled**: Sorry I didn't reply to your review, but as you know, I couldn't. So you're the first one to get a reply in the fic! I hope I don't disappoint you, but there really won't be too much more to this story. In fact, the next chapter might be the last one, it depends on whether or not I decided to split the ending into two chapters, or do it all in one big, giant finale! ….. I'm lazy, I can't update soon, but I'll try my best!

--3--

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The hoot of an owl, the furious sound of wings beating through the air, the cry of a small creature as a predator got its' food for the night, all were echoing around the forest, mocking the two teens—the noises preying on their nerves, which were shot do to a recent encounter with a dark force.

Zoro pushed past a rather thick bush, Luffy following close behind, one hand clenched tight in the rough fabric of his first mate's shirt. The rubber boy needed a physical reminder that he wasn't—and never would be—alone.

They walked in silence, concentrating on getting out of the forest and back to their nakama. Granted, Zoro probably wasn't the best person to do the job, but Luffy was still slightly shocked at what the freaky bastard had done to him. If the swordsman ever saw the demented monster, he would beat its' ass down to hell where it belonged, drag it back up to the surface and pummel it down once more for hurting his captain! His eyes flashed as the image of the vulnerable teenager assaulted his mind. Luffy, shoulder slouched, and looking so fragile, so…. Broken. It made Zoro's heart twist painfully in his chest. The guilt of leaving his captain to face the menace alone roared through his entire being like a giant tsunami that couldn't be stopped. It was enough to make him wince, and Zoro forcibly pushed the emotion back into his mind. He wouldn't let it happen again. He would **never** let anyone hurt his captain so badly again!

A soft tug on his shirt brought the swordsman back to the present, thoughts halting for a moment as a small voice broke the quiet surrounding the pair, "…. Zoro?" The green haired teen grunted to show he was listening.

"Are you sure we're going the right way?"

Zoro twisted his neck to look at the boy behind him. Dark eyes looked up at him, the question gleaming in their depths.

"Aah, this is the way. I'm sure of it." Luffy nodded, his face expressing the utter most trust in his first mate's abilities. Sure, Zoro wasn't the best with directions—okay, so the swordsman probably couldn't find his was out of a cardboard box let alone a gigantic forest, but he had to be telling the truth right? Zoro wouldn't lie to him.

Zoro felt his guilt rapidly escalate at the look on his captain's face. In all honestly, he had no idea where they were. In fact, he was pretty sure they had passed that large moss covered oak tree five times now. But he couldn't just tell Luffy he didn't know where the hell they were, it would probably make the boy even quieter than what he was at the moment. And a quiet Luffy is a bad, bad omen. Shaking his head to get rid of the sudden sense of foreboding that made itself at home in his stomach, Zoro turned back around and focused on getting out of the stupid god forsaken forest.

Black eyes scanned the surrounding foliage for any sign of the bright moonlight that weakly filtered through the thick leaves of the abnormally gigantic. He could smell the sting of salt from the ocean, but he couldn't hear the waves breaking against the beach. He sighed inaudibly and chanced a quick glance behind him. Luffy was staring at his feet, making no move to lead the pair like he normally would. Spinning his eyes back onto the path in front of him, Zoro noticed that the light seemed brighter in between two large shrubs with round red and purple berry looking things on them. That lighter area could only mean that there was a break in the forest up ahead, and it was possible that it might be the beach.

Grinning, Zoro darted forward, breath changing from the laborious pants to enthusiastic ones at the prospect of finally making it to the Merry. Luffy stumbled at the sudden alter in pace, but quickly picked up on his first mate's excitement. He soon caught up with Zoro and was running right along with him. They came upon the shrubs within moments and broke through, each expecting to see the moon making the sand grains sparkle white like a blanket of snow, the ocean lazily spilling across the beach in intermediate waves, and the Going Merry sitting; nestled in the shadows, the rest of the crew waving and shouting 'welcome back's and 'you idiots! Why were you gone so long?' at them as the two returned. Each of the crew would show their worry in their own way: Nami would charge them for being late, Sanji would say that they were idiots and get in a kick or two in the head for making the ladies wait for dinner, Usopp would want to know where they were and if they met any monsters(what would he face look like when Luffy and Zoro told him yes, they **did** meet a monster), Chopper would be right with Usopp after checking to make sure they didn't have any injuries, and Robin would just greet them pleasantly and go back to reading her book. All in all, it would be great to be back on the ship after what had just happened to them.

Their happy day dream abruptly met its end when the two teens registered just what exactly they were seeing. Two pairs of eyes widened and a soft gasp rang like a gunshot through the air, exploding in the sudden stillness.

"No…" Luffy started, dark orbs shining with the still fresh hurt from a past experience.

Zoro cursed under his breath, staring at the clearing glaring back at him.

"No freakin' way…."

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"**WHERE ARE THEY?!?!"** Nami shouted, eyes burning with an intensity that made everyone in the kitchen lean away from the fiery woman pacing the length of the room in her rage. Even Sanji had enough sense not to do his noodle dance at the moment, even though he desperately wanted to. Nami was just so, so, so, so, so adorable and cute when she was angry!

"I'm sure they're fine Navigator-san." Robin said in a calm voice, never taking her eyes off the rather big tome with a dark purple spine and navy blue cover. She seemed unaffected by the bubbling human volcano starting to erupt in before her.

"**THEY SHOULD HAVE BEEN BACK BY NOW!!!"** Nami shouted at her, pointing her finger accusingly at the archeologist, "**THEY COULD BE IN TROUBLE FOR ALL WE KNOW!!"**

"Remember who you're talking about Nami. Luffy always gets in trouble. And Zoro does have a horrible sense of direction; they could be coming back soon." Chopper's small voice announced.

"Yeah, and both Luffy and Zoro are strong! They can take care of themselves!" Usopp joined in, courage boosting when the little doctor spoke up first.

Nami turned toward them, eyes promising a long, painful death. But before she could say anything, Robin once more spoke up, taking her eyes off the page for a moment and everyone could see the small smile on her face, "And you know Navigator-san, that the longer they spend alone, the more likely it is that they might be having revelations about each other."

Nami paused in her rage at this, and quickly became more subdued as she realized Robin could be right. She chuckled as beli signs appeared in her eyes, "I can charge them 100,000 beli each for making me worry. And I'll add an extra 50,000 beli for messing around when they should have been working hard trying to get back to the ship."

The crew laughed, the slightly worried and scary atmosphere subsiding into a more relaxed one as they thought of the look on their crewmate's faces when they came back.

Sanji stood up and danced over to Nami, "Should I make dinner now my love?"

"Wait a little longer; the idiots might be back soon." She replied, taking a seat at the table next to Robin. Usopp commenced telling Chopper about the time when he defeated a whole nest of Sea Kings all alone, with only his trusty slingshot and Usopp Hammer to defend himself with. Sanji hovered over the two ladies, spouting mushy nonsense all the while. Nami amused herself by making the love cook flip out whenever she flirted back with him. It was just a normal night for the Strawhat crew, the only exception being that the lovebirds weren't there, making goo-goo eyes at each other without even knowing it. This content ambiance continued on without interruption. Nami eventually told Sanji to start on dinner, as it was getting late, and their crewmate's 'activities' could be going on for far longer than anyone had anticipated.

Sanji happily complied, gathering the ingredients for a stew fit for a king. Tomatoes, carrots, noodles, meat, potatoes, and spices decorated the counter. The cook quickly chopped up the food, cutting the meat into cubes and saving a nice round chunk of the stuff for Luffy to eat with the stew. He also grabbed a loaf of bread, preparing it to be dipped with the main course.

Nami sipped at the cool iced tea Sanji had made her, and sighed in content. The drink was delicious. She soothed the headache she had developed while screaming about what happened to the two lovebirds as a momentary lull developed in the almost constant noise in the kitchen. It was at this time that she heard a soft gasp, and glanced to her right at Robin, who was staring wide-eyed down at the pages of her tome. The red head placed the glass in her hands down on the table and turned to face the archeologist. "Robin?"

The dark haired woman ignored her, but the light blue eyes scanned frantically down the page, expression becoming more and more anxious as she continued to read something she obviously didn't like. Nami studied the older woman for a moment longer, but placed a hand on her shoulder as Robin let out another gasp. "Robin?" Nami urged, shaking the shoulder slightly as a feeling foreboding came over her. "Is something wrong?"

Robin turned to her, face slightly pale, "Captain-san and Swordsman-san are in trouble."

The ominous feeling became a lead weight in the pit of her stomach. "What do you mean Robin?"

"This island, it's cursed."

The red head's usually sharp mind processed this thought slowly, and when she finally realized what Robin said, her body was filled with dread.

"_**WHAT?!"**_ Nami shrieked, her cry gaining the attention of everyone else. Sanji didn't stop stirring the stew, but he glanced over his shoulder at the two women in worry. **"WHAT DO YOU MEAN 'CURSED'?!"**

Usopp and Chopper started shaking, "What's cursed?!"

Robin stared at them, face ever emotionless, but eyes showing her worry, "The island. This island is cursed!" Seeing the questioning expression on her crewmate's faces, Robin started to explain, "It's in my tome. It's called, _The Dark Years_ and it mentions that this island is cursed by a monster of some kind. Apparently, over a hundred years ago, this place used to be known as Disappearing Isle, as the island would be invisible unless certain light patterns reflected across the minerals in the forest's tress and soil were in play. Apparently, such a phenomena occurs only once every twenty years for an expanse of a twenty-eight hour period. It was lucky that we crossed it at the moment it was to reappear."

"So how does that make the island haunted?" Usopp interjected, wanting to know how best to avoid ghosts and other ghouls that might be hiding pass the forest edge. But nothing could protect him from the vicious kick aimed at his head. "Don't interrupt a lady when she's talking moron!" Sanji yelled, leg poised to strike again if Usopp tried to fight back. When the sharpshooter made no move to get up, the cook let out a 'Hmph' and turned to Robin, "Don't mind the idiot Robin-swan~! Go on with your story!"

"I was getting to that," Robin continued, shooting a small smile to the now embarrassed teen, "The world was ravaged by an incurable disease, and Disappearing Isle was hit with the worst of it. In a desperate attempt to save the lives of their people, the doctors of the island decided to take on the advice of wizards and witches. A group formed and the experimented on humans to find the cure.

"But something went wrong. Some malfunction or an error in calculation happened and the human that was their test subject transformed into a hideous monster." Robin paused, frowning, "The tome doesn't mention what the monster looked like, and the details of how it was created are very vague. The only real clear thing on the matter is the fact that the monster was bloodthirsty and a cannibal. It ate the villagers and tried to leave the island, but was stopped by the group and sealed in a church that acts as its own personal hell. But when the clock strikes midnight on the night when the island is visible, the monster is free to roam the grounds." The archeologist paused once more, and when she spoke again, she looked into the eyes of all her nakama, "And it says that a ship is always lured to the island on the night it appears, so the monster can claim the sailors to quench his thirst for blood."

The crew sat, transfixed as Robin finished her tale. Nami suddenly jumped up, "Are you saying that Luffy and Zoro are going to get eaten by this monster?!" The kitchen was a sudden flurry of activity as each member tried to cope with the idea that their captain and first mate could very well be devoured by a ghost monster. There was lots of yelling, screaming, thrashing, and hiding under the table before arms bloomed on the crew's bodies, and hands covered opened mouths. In the silence that followed, all eyes turned to the dark haired woman sitting calmly at the table, staring at her nakama. "Panicking will get us nowhere. Sit and listen." With that, the limbs disappeared in a small tornado of sakura petals. The crew sat down to discuss the matter as Robin had demanded them to.

"We have to go and find them! They could be in danger as we speak!" Nami cried, the worry she felt standing out in her amber eyes.

"We can't!" Usopp cried, waving his arms across his chest, "There's no way we can go after them!"

"And why not!?" Nami challenged, glaring at the sharpshooter. Chopper took to defending Usopp as he started spluttering his usual nonsense about his 'I-have-I-can't-go-on-the-haunted-island-sickness'. "Nami, what if we end up getting caught? Luffy and Zoro might not have even met the monster and if we go looking for them and get captured, what'll they do when they come back to the ship?"

Nami hesitated only slightly, "But what if they **are** caught? They could be drugged and tied up dangling from a tree above a pot of boiling water to make imbecile soup!!"

"Nami-chwan, as much as I hate to say it, I agree with Chopper." Sanji intervened, regret obvious in his voice, "Luffy is strong and the marimo can take care of himself. Not to mention he would kill anyone who would dare hurt Luffy."

The red head sighed in aggravation, and fought to make her point in the argument, "Sure, they're strong. But you know that Luffy _always_ manages to get in trouble, no matter where he is! And Zoro can't find his way out of the men's quarters, much less an unfamiliar island! What if they got separated somehow and were ambushed? If they were taken down alone, they might just be in the hands of a** cannibal**!!!"

"But Nami," Chopper started again, "What if we can't find them in the first place?"

The navigator's eyes turned cold and she glared at the reindeer, "Are you doubting my navigation skills?!"

"No, no!" Chopper waved his arms frantically to avoid the anger that would inevitably bring him pain, "I just meant that it has been a while since they've gone in. They left this morning right?" The Zoan glanced at Robin, who nodded her head in confirmation, "Then they could be _anywhere_ on the island. Knowing Luffy, he probably found some sort of secret passage way, and Zoro followed him."

Sanji quickly joined in, hating himself for going against his beloved Nami-chwan, but knowing that she might just force them to go if she didn't realize why they couldn't leave the ship. "You said it yourself Nami-chwan, the island in unfamiliar territory. Not to mention it's already dark out. **We** could be the ones that end up needing help because we walked blindly into a quicksand swamp."

Nami wracked her mind to find an argument for this statement, but came up blank. She looked to Robin to get support, but found that the archeologist had sided with the boys, leaving her alone with her opinion. She sighed in frustration, _Those idiots are going to be the death of me, I swear. Then I'll have to charge them 10,000,000,000, beli each for killing me!_ She threw her hands up in despair, "Alright, alright. You guys win. It's not very fair of you all to gang up on one weak little girl." Sanji started apologizing profusely for ganging up on her, Usopp and Chopper called her a liar in their heads, and Robin just sat there watching her friends try to cope with the idea that they might lose on of their nakama. Her own throat tightened up considerably at the thought, and she quickly blinked back tears. Sanji was right; Zoro and Luffy could handle themselves. So she tried to relax and laughed quietly as Sanji kicked the two boys and forced them to apologize to 'my dear sweet Nami-chwan!'. Hopefully, they wouldn't have to wait too long before the two 'lovers' came back home.

________________________________________________________________________

"Damnit!" Zoro yelled, punching a tree to vent out his anger. "We made a complete circle!" Luffy stood still, just staring at the clearing, the graveyard, where one of his deepest fears had been confronted. The swordsman breathed deeply through his nose and slowly cooled his fury. Luffy was still acting weird; even though Zoro had clearly stated that he would never leave the rubber boy alone. Worry overriding the instinct to get away from the clearing—as the were already back at the graveyard, so what was the point in running away for a second time to, more likely then not, end up at the same spot—and he walked over to his captain and placed a hand on his shoulder. "Luffy?"

The teen didn't say anything, just stood there, staring at the ruins. Zoro shook his shoulder, "Luffy?" He waited for a response, none came. Just as the swordsman was about to shake the shoulder once more, a soft voice that didn't belong to the Luffy he knew came from the teen, "… Why are we back here? I thought we left this place…" Black eyes softened, and Zoro moved in front of the boy to block his view of the clearing and to get a better look at his captain. One tanned calloused hand cupped Luffy's chin and tilted it up until Zoro could look directly into the rubber boy's eyes.

Luffy's eyes didn't have the spark in them anymore, it was replaced with an underlying fear of the thing that had attacked him, of the thing that he had been powerless to stop, of the thing that had known his greatest fear without ever meeting him before. The feeling of uselessness, and the overwhelming sense of fear and pain caused by the thought of being abandoned had to of taken its toll on the young captain's mind. Just letting the rubber boy know Zoro wouldn't leave him alone wouldn't be enough to get rid of the fear in those eyes. Hell, telling Luffy that Zoro would never let him out of his sight again might even make the teen believe that his first mate didn't trust in his abilities. It was time for some damage control.

"Luffy," Zoro started, struggling to grasp the right words to explain to his captain how he felt, "You're one of the strongest people I know. In fact, you're probably stronger than me, and I would accept defeat from you with honor knowing that I lost to a man destined to be Pirate King," The swordsman smiled, and let the words sink in before continuing, "But, I promise you that I'll give you one hell of a fight if we ever actually do battle." He smirked, seeing the fire coming back into Luffy's eyes. "You are my captain, the only one that I will willingly bow down to, and the only one that I will take orders from voluntarily. Know Luffy, that admitting to fearing something means that you're strong, means that you will continue to survive and grow stronger to battle that fear." Zoro stopped to take a breath, and leaned closer to his captain, so close that their noses almost touched.

He stared hard into Luffy's dark eyes, his own reflecting sincerity and when he spoke, honesty rang clearly in his voice, "You are my captain, no matter what."

The fire that had been absent for the past few hours flared back to life with an intensity so great, it would scare off all the animals in the messed up forest. Those now bright orbs shined with gratification and Luffy opened his mouth to vocalize it when the two where suddenly thrown into the clearing. All that escaped the teen's mouth was a strangled cry of surprise before his head cracked against a stone wall, crumbling it to dust. Plowing through a few more walls, his head cracked against a cement gravestone. The air in Zoro's lungs escaped in a gasp as he too, obliterated the ruins that were in his way, and landed hard on the ground, pain exploding in his spine as he landed on something sharp that dug into the soft skin of his back. He registered Luffy landing next to him, in a similar position.

A cold, low laugh filled the quiet atmosphere around the graveyard. It laughed at though enjoying some joke that only it understood. A chill ran through Zoro's body that had nothing to do with the soggy soil.

"Good, you're back! I was wondering when you would return! I was fixing to send a search party after you!" The noise came from everywhere at once, and Zoro couldn't focus enough to find out where the sound was coming from. But realization slowly set in that this voice had to belong to the bastard that attacked Luffy—and to the voice that had given him his own nightmare.

With this revelation, Zoro sat up, grunting at the pain that stabbed at his spine. He barely registered the fact that a thick fog had rolled in, and the moonlight shone off of every gravestone, proudly displaying the gruesome image of death and destruction. He didn't realize that his clothes were getting soaked from the combination of the soil and fog, or the fact that the creepy graveyard now looked menacing and downright chilling with the blanket of fog sweeping over the area. Nor did the fact that the fog seemed just like the inky blackness of his nightmare, swirling about his being until he could hardly see anything but what might be wisps of hands in the mass of gray smog. The only thing that Zoro saw at the moment was the outline of the figure sitting on a headstone not too far in front of him.

This was the same man that had broken his captain, the one that had instilled that uncommon fear in those dark orbs. And the monster that was going to die by his hand very soon.


	4. Chapter 4

Why, hello to you all!! Here is the next installment of your story. Not as late as the last one, but still late nonetheless, I apologize for that! Please, enjoy the chapter and immerse yourselves in what I like to call: a terror-induced haze…. But that's not to say that you will get terrified, just an expression I like. Anywho, a special thank to A Seagull Among Songbirds, as she's my good friend that is posting this chapter because I can't login. Assume for the rest of the story and the others I might write that I can't login unless I say otherwise. I think that the next chapter will be the last one…. Kinda makes me sad. But that just means I can get on to other stories right?! *Trying to convince herself* But this one is longer than the last chapter, and forgive my spelling and grammar mistakes! Now, on to Reviewer's Reply!!

**Lectori Salutem:** Thank you! I was worried that Zoro would seem OOC during that talk, so I'm glad you thought it was sweet….. And yes, the crew have very dirty minds don't they? XD

**Randomstrike:** WAAAH!! THIS IS YOUR FIRST ZOLU FIC?!?!?! I'm so happy!! TT_TT Thanks! I'll try as hard as I can!

**Su-chan:** Thanks Su-chan! I'm glad you enjoyed the part with the rest of the crew. I thought it would be dreadfully boring.

**Zoningout:** Thank you so much!! I hope that this update is better for you then the last one! And yes, there really does need to be more ZoLu love, it's so small compared to other pairings…

**Black rose pirate:** Thanks! I hope the update it good enough! ….. Even if it's still kinda slow….

And if anyone can figure out what I based my disease on(and what symptoms are true)then kudos to you! Now, without further ado, I give you the newest chapter to Haunted Isle!!

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--4--

* * *

A violent storm of animosity washed over the swordsman, and he fought to quell the crashing waves back down reverently, reminding himself that to lose oneself in a fit of anger was like openly declaring how foolish one was. And it wouldn't help Luffy if he lost his temper.

"Now that you're finally back I can set about preparing the ritual." That wintry voice spoke once more, still having the disconcerting ability to surround Zoro.

"What do you mean?" Luffy stood—head pounding from its collision with various forms of rock—with slight difficulty, "What ritual?" Other than a few scrapes and bruises, the most serious injury the captain appeared to have was a long cut along the left side of his face.

"Oh?" The voice sounded genuinely surprised, "I didn't tell you in our last encounter?" Zoro growled lowly in his throat at such an obvious reminder of what had transpired only hours before. It knew it had made no such mention when tormenting them. The statement was probably said just to make the teens remember how easily they had been controlled by It before. Damn thing.

Luffy glared at It, eyes not betraying anything but fierce determination and the will to survive. "What ritual?" He repeated.

"The one I perform inside the church every twenty years for the blood sacrifices." The sheer nonchalantance with which such a sentence was spoken shocked Zoro for a moment, before his brain registered what had been said.

"'Blood sacrifices'?" He asked incredulously.

"Yes," It nodded enthusiastically, "I'm going to kill you then devour your flesh." At this, It grinned, showing off the abnormally long, sharp canine teeth that occupied its mouth.

The swordsman felt bile creep up his throat at the mental image that statement had provided. He glanced at Luffy, and saw a disgusted face—tongue cutely (There's that damn word again!) pointing out just a little—that probably mirrored his own. Without the tongue sticking out of course. "Not gonna happen." Zoro said, grabbing hold of Wado.

"Do you intend to stop me?" The amusement in Its voice was painfully obvious, "If you want to die so quickly, please, by all means, go ahead and try."

A quick glimpse to his side confirmed the fact that Luffy was also getting pissed off by the arrogant bastard. Their eyes met for a brief moment, and conveyed a plan without words. A ferocious frontal attack was in order. Nodding, Zoro turned his gaze back to the figure sitting on the headstone. On a silent command, both teens rushed to It, Zoro quickly drawing Wado out of its sheath and Luffy pulling his arm back for a punch. Once in range, they unleashed their attacks simultaneously, and were promptly thrown back by an invisible shield, the power of the assault was muted by the force and didn't reach the figure at all.

"What the hell was that?!" Zoro demanded, feeling miffed that his attack had been stopped without It so much as lifting a finger. Two glaring blood-red eyes stared at him, and the wide smile gleamed dangerously in the moonlight. It was only then did the swordsman realize how thick the fog was, how similar it was to the inky blackness from his nightmare, and how he couldn't see anything but the hazy outline of the figure calmly sitting before him. That, out of anything, unnerved him the most. Why couldn't they see it? "Oy," His voice carried strangely for some reason, as if something terrible was about to happen. Zoro swallowed the sudden dryness in his throat, pushing the gut-wrenching feeling away for the moment, "Show yourself bastard."

"Hm? Very well." As though some sort of barrier had been broken a shaft of moonlight came raining down upon the figure, bathing it in a shinning bright white light.

If only the figure itself was half a fraction as glorious as the moon's beautiful rays.

The blood-red eyes shone with stoic emotion, and they sunk down into the leathery skin of the skull. The skin itself was cracked and dry, a dark brown color with what appeared to be small, coarse, black tuffs of fur gathering together as seemingly random patches of charcoal. Two large, definitely furry ears stuck on both sides of his face, they pointed like an elf's would at the end, twitching frequently. The nose was equally as pointy, if not more so, than the ears. Its body was covered in the remains of old tattered clothes and each hand and foot carried wicked claws designed to hook into prey and viciously rip strands of skin apart as they were pulled back. It gave a smile that sparkled in the moonlight, one that showed every tooth it had. The smile clashed horribly with the putrid stank of pure darkness and evil that seemed to secret from every pore in its body. A long, brown tail swished quietly behind it and the sensitive tip twitched slightly in a slight, unfelt breeze. There was a stoop to its posture, and as the breeze passed the two teens, it carried with it a smell of old, sour blood mixed with sweat and the retched scent of animal urine. The most eye-catching feature was the face of this monster.

It was horrendously deformed. On the right side, black fur matted together with dry blood covered the face, but not all of it. There were patches of skin that were falling off all together, some even hanging by the threads of the cheek's tissue. Holes the size of human eyes dotted the surface. Zoro could even see straight through the papery skin straight to the yellow jaw bone. There was a spot right under a crimson eye that glistened with wet, bright pink tendons and muscles clinging to the bone underneath. The swordsman could also see its veins scattering just under the skin, they appeared to be a purplish green color.

The left side was equally, if not more, sickening then the right. Part of the cheek bloated outward, and its skull was sunken in just above the eyebrow, forming a small crater. Pieces of blood-crusted scabs decorated the entire left side of the face. Each varied in puffiness, size, and color. One would be small and whitish yellow, with a sickly green liquid seeping out of it. Another scab would be big and raw, the pinkish tissue showered with splotches of purple and urine colored yellow, spotted with black—almost like a bruise. Then there were some that would just be oozing out a white puss with yellow-orange and dark green substances mixing together. One scab in particular was medium sized, pinkish purple and sporting maggot larvae crawling around inside the open wound, delighted at having a meal.

"Now, will you boys be nice and obedient and back down without a fight?" It grinned, making a few flakes of skin fly off and lazily drift to the ground on the right side and causing a scab to spurt the sickly green liquid on the left. Zoro grimaced, the sight making him sick to his stomach. Luffy gagged to his right, sharing the same feeling as his first mate.

Taking a deep breath, Zoro answered the creature, "Never."

"Pity. Then will you run away again?" It asked.

At this, Zoro's pride and anger flared violently. Was this monster calling him a coward?!

"Who're you calling a coward bastard?!" The swordsman yelled angrily.

"Why, you of course."

"Say what?!" Zoro shouted, "How the hell are we cowards?!"

"You ran away when I contacted you before." It stated simply.

Zoro growled, at that time, yes, they _had_ run away, but with good reason! He needed to get Luffy out of that situation, and running had been the best option at the moment. But that was no reason to say they were cowards, it wasn't like they had backed down from a fight or anything.

"What are you?" Luffy's quiet voice blasted in the silence after the stinging accusation It had made.

The venomously cold smile that the monster suddenly wore chilled Zoro's anger from a roaring fire to a flickering light. "I don't see why that concerns you, but I think I may just let it slide this once and—as I've never told my food anything about me—maybe when you hear the story, it'll make you start screaming sooner when I tear you apart."

_Food?! _

Luffy felt numb when one of his favorite words could mean so much pain for him. And Zoro refused to respect that he may just become a means of nutrition for another. But It paid their apprehension at the prospect of becoming food no heed. Blood red eyes glazed over, as if recalling a memory, a memory so far back that it had almost become a vague black and white image of what really happened. Then, It started to speak. The voice so quiet that both teens had to lean forward to hear the soft words.

"Everything happened in the 14th century. Human beings were being stalked and killed by a plague so devastating that it killed nearly half of my country's population. The death toll was so high in my town that corpses littered the streets, each one bringing the mark of death to anyone who came close enough. Every body carried the same symptoms: skin falling off, tumor-like bulges under the armpits, black and purple sores and bruises decorated the carcass. Some had large spots, and others had small ones. And those that became infected almost certainly died. In later years, this disease became known as, 'The Death.'

* * *

**Europe 1349**

* * *

April 16th, 1349. The day everything I knew was lost.

_A young man with long, brown hair tied back into a low pony tail walked the streets, soft brown eyes radiating with warmth. He was innocent, not yet experiencing the hardships that would scar and cripple him for the rest of his life, as so many other poor souls had felt. Naïve enough to believe that everything still had the fairy tale ending—everything would be alright in the end, no matter what obstacles one would be faced with. His lean, but muscular figure and tan skin is considered 'handsome' by most, but the young man never acknowledged that fact, preferring to ignore the flirtatious winks and scandalous stares the women gave him. But even with all the attention, he was loyal to himself—being humble and kind to everyone he came in contact with. He had the makings of being the sort of man that a parent would be proud to have, and one that would be successful in all his endeavors._

_A frown graced the young man's face, an unsuitable expression for one of such high class as himself. Brown eyes danced with curiosity and morbid fascination as they took in the carnage that had settled in the town over the past two years. Dead, puffed up bodies waited on the streets to the sides of houses and homes, awaiting for the trolley to come and pick them up to be either incinerated or buried with others of the same fate. Black sores visibly stood out against the pale skin of the corpse. Briefly, he wondered if the government had come up with a cure to the disease yet—if not, he worried that the town's people would riot, as they demanded answers in their panic, and have been receiving none. That train of thought led him to his troubles at home, as—ever since his baby sister died because of the disease—his parents happened to be among some of the more radical citizens, the ones pushing the mayor to get answers from Parliament. Warily, he wondered what action they would take next to get the fake justice they felt Jacquelyn deserved. The young man shook his head slightly, there was no justice to be served for something that no one could control, or even predict happening. The Italian merchants had already died from the disease they brought with them from trading, so there was no one to pin the blame on. Well, he corrected himself, no one that __**really**__ knew what was going on._

_Sighing, he pushed the negative thoughts firmly to the back of his mind. It was too nice of a day to dwell on one's troubles. The clip-clop of a horse's hooves on the cobblestone streets reached his ears, and the young man stepped to the side in time to avoid being hit by a trolley as it raced down the street, bouncing dangerously, the corpses in the trailer jouncing to and fro, limbs flailing in an awkward, stiff manner. No doubt due to the hard muscles and ligaments holding the bodies together._

_The young man didn't take another pause in the journey to his house, enjoying the brisk temperature and short walk that took him to the concrete steps and big wooden door with a dull brass knob that signified he was home. The old pine wood creaked as he opened the door and stepped onto the foyer. The corners of his mouth tilted downwards in a hint of a frown when his parents didn't greet him—as they were always at the door when he got home to make sure he didn't have the same disease that killed Jacquelyn. He shrugged the concern off; they were busy people that didn't have to fuss over their eldest child so vigorously._

I should've realized something was wrong the moment silence greeted me instead of the boisterous welcome from my parents.

_As the young man entered the living room, he immediately saw the two men in black linen trousers and startling white tunics conversing with his parents. Dark glasses covered their eyes, making me wary of their presence. Alas, he also experienced the nagging curiosity that often got the young man in trouble. What are the men doing here? Did they have business with his parents? Or are they people from the government, relaying news about the progress of the cure? Many more questions buzzed through the young man's mind, but he kept his lips sealed, as was polite to do so unless you're spoken to._

"_Ah, Rowan, my son, you're back! Your mother and I were awaiting your return with great apprehension. You see," Here, Father gestured to the two men that had not been introduced, "These fine men have been looking for volunteers to help search for the cure to the disease. I have taken the initiative to volunteer you for their… Services." The pause worried Rowan, and he noted the sweat dribbling down Father's brow. Mother seemed entirely cold, she hadn't uttered a noise since he arrived, her eyes trained unto the floor._

"_May I ask what these services are Father?" Rowan asked, voice steady._

"_I'm afraid not my son, as even I do not know the classifications with which they selected you to participate in their employment." Brown eyes shot towards the men then back quickly nervously. Mother had still not looked up._

"_Father, what is going on?"_

"_I already told you Rowan. These men are going to take you to the capitol to find a cure for the disease."_

"_But why m-?"_

"_Rowan!" Father interrupted him, "Do as I say!" Rowan stopped the protest that was on the tip of his tongue and nodded, eyes never leaving his fathers. The two men stood up abruptly, they crossed the floor to the young man quickly, grabbing a hold of both of Rowan's arms. The young man struggled, overcome with a sense of fear. The well-dressed men were far stronger than him, and easily dragged Rowan to the door._

"_Mother! Father! Help me!!" Rowan cried desperately, legs kicking at the men. His father stood up, Mother at his side. "Be grateful my son!" Excitement made the deep voice quiver, "You shall avenge the death of our daughter doing this!"_

_Shock paralyzed him for a moment, "W-What do you mean?"_

_Mother finally made eye contact, and Rowan gasped at what lay in the ocean blue depths. Hope, excitement, and anger swirled in the irises. "Rowan, you can avenge Jacquelyn!" She practically yelled, then Mother continued in a quieter voice, horrible madness and anger shone in her eyes—along with the hunger for revenge, "I don't care if I just sold my son to be a guinea pig, I want the people to pay for taking my daughter's life. Help find the cure son, and destroy those that go against you. Destroy them!" _

_Rowan couldn't believe his ears. Surely his parents didn't intend for the men carrying him to…To experiment on him?! But he saw the finality in both of their eyes, and stopped struggling, limbs going weak and numb. Rowan felt tears prickling at the edges of his eyes, and closed them in an effort to keep the sadness and hurt welling inside him hidden. Then one of the men hit Rowan in the back of the neck, and he lost his thoughts to darkness._

I was betrayed by the very people that I loved dearly. They are ones that caused me the most horrible pain in my heart. They were willing to let me die in a gamble to see if they could avenge their fallen daughter… Even though there was no one to be avenged upon.

_Rowan opened his eyes briefly as he came out of unconsciousness, but closed them immediately afterwards to protect the vulnerable tissue from the blinding whiteness that was above him. When he felt ready, Rowan opened his eyes once more, squinting against the light. As his pupils became adjusted he noticed that he was surrounded by bleach white things, even tables and chairs were white! Slightly grinning at the audacity of the person living inside the building making everything stark white, Rowan went to rub his eye, which was starting to ache. But his arm was halted before it even moved, as he had thick black leather straps across his chest, lower abdomen, knees, and his feet. Rowan couldn't move off of the table he was strapped to even if he tried his hardest. It was then that everything that had happened decided to come rushing back; his parents had betrayed him. Watched gleefully in malicious revenge as the two men knocked him out, and dragged him out the door. More tears prickled at his eyes at the thought, but Rowan held them back. When he was let go, he would disown his parents, no matter how much they begged him to take them back._

_A door outside of Rowan's vision opened, and he heard the footsteps of several people enter the room he was in. They appeared, hovering above him, dressed in long dark blue coats with white rubber gloves. There were masks over each face, and each set of eyes stared at him with obvious excitement. One with bushy gray eyebrows spoke, "Congratulations, you have been selected to be one of the lucky people to have the cure for the disease applied to them."_

_Rowan stared at his confusedly, "What do you mean? I don't have the-!" His voice broke off as one of the people near his head shoved a tube with a blackish purple liquid in his mouth. Rowan tried to spit it out, but the man just tipped the tube upwards until the vile liquid started to slide down his throat. Frantically, Rowan tried not to swallow, but it was impossible as a forefinger and thumb closed his nose, forcing him to drink the liquid unless he wanted to suffocate. The fluid burned as it went down, and Rowan chocked a few times before the tube was drained. _

_When the glass was removed from his mouth, Rowan opened his mouth to speak, but was once again cut off as another man appeared above his head, with a light silvery gray bucket in his hands._

_Before he could utter a word, the bucket tipped and a stream of hot red blood poured into his open mouth. Rowan chocked, and coughed, sending the blood back up to the man, and gravity pulled the droplets back down to splatter his face. The man didn't seem affected by this, as he continued to tilt the bucket, pouring more blood down Rowan's throat. The young man was slightly aware of the feeling of some unknown liquid seeping into his clothes as the other six men grabbed their own buckets and spilled more blood on Rowan's body, some drawing strange symbols in the liquid of life._

_When all blood was extinguished, Rowan panted with relief, he could breathe again. But the men lit black candles and circled him, beginning to chant in a language that was foreign to him. It was only Rowan that noticed a small, black rat enter the room._

Stupid quacks. The spell might've worked had they properly closed the door.

_He tried to warn them, but his mouth wouldn't work, and his body was starting to feel like lead. The men were doing something to him, affecting his body in such a way that he couldn't do anything, in precaution that something goes wrong and he becomes a monster. So Rowan watched silently as the rat entered the pentagram that surrounded the table he was strapped to, and the way that it too, became covered in the same blood that was on him. A sudden fear and panic coursed through Rowan as he heard the chanting speed up until words were incoherent, and the room started to spin. Slightly at first, but then the rotations became more and more violent to match the chanting. Suddenly, the seven voices stopped, and for a moment, nothing happened. Then a bright light engulfed his vision and Rowan experienced a searing pain throughout his entire body. A pain so strong and so powerful, his body was in a wonderful agony. He felt hundreds of needles stabbing every pore on his body, felt thousands of knife slicing through his skin, felt his tissue and muscles burning with a flame as hot as the sun before the fire slowly moved towards the surface, burning his body from the inside out. Felt his intestines rip open, his lungs burst and puncture on his ribs. Felt his heart beat thunderously in his chest cavity, and then give a shuddering, pitiful last beat before stopping completely. Rowan felt himself die._

* * *

The two teens stared in shock as the monster recounted what happened to him. There was a pause where Rowan sighed, before a decidedly deadly gleam appeared in his eyes. Zoro tensed for a fight, sensing Luffy do the same beside him. But the creature wasn't quite down telling his tale.

"When I awoke in the room once more, I remember staring at the shiny surface of the floor, looking into my reflection marring the smooth linoleum. I remember my feeling of disgust at my appearance, and the horror at what I had become. Then I looked at the men and women that created me. I remember the happiness on each face, the joy at thinking that their cure had worked, that the disease would finally be stopped. I remember the way they laughed gleefully at my ugly face and shouted out expressions of jubilance, hugging each other excitedly. But I knew the truth. Their little séance hadn't worked. I was dead!! I felt my heart stop! And I remember the flash of fierce anger and ferocious hunger that pierced my soul.

"I remember those same happy smiles turning into panic and terror as I broke free from my bonds with a mighty roar, grabbing the nearest wizard or scientist and biting down on his neck with my new razor sharp teeth. I remember how good the feeling of tearing into flesh felt, how sweet the warm blood seemed to taste, and I remember the way his heart pulsated frantically, desperately trying to stay alive, so alike how mine was. I remember the need to feel more. More of that wonderful delicious flesh and delightful blood. I remember the screams and cries of terror being music to my pointy ears. The satisfaction of hearing their shouts of pain and anguish. I remember the sickening crunch of bone when I made the decision to leave nothing behind, except the splatters of blood on the walls, ceiling, and floor.

"I remember the desire. The hunger. The absolute need to kill—to tear everything apart! I remember the feeling of exhilaration when I finished hunting down the remaining people in the compound I was held at. I remember that I didn't feel that insatiable hunger as I picked my teeth with a shard of the leg bone of the president of the building. I was sated, for the moment. And so, I left. The town didn't know a thing about my rampage other than someone had come and broken into a secret government building and slaughtered most of the workers, and then disposed of their bodies."

Rowan's crimson eyes refocused to the present, "I went through time like that. Feeding on humans and hiding in the shadows. I couldn't function in a normal society, but that was fine with me. I could take my own revenge against human kind for turning me into what I am now.

"But I got cocky, and started showing more and more of myself to my victims. I loved the unadulterated terror in their eyes as the looked at my disgusting form. Alas, one day my captured victim escaped after I carelessly unfocused my attention, forgetting the power of fear in humans. She went to the village I was hiding by and told the leader what had happened. Thus resulting in the villagers uniting to take me down, anger and fear driving them to my humble cave." Rowan shrugged, "I was furious, of course, for letting my food get away. And I took out that rapacious fury out on the villagers. I slaughtered all of them, enjoying the rush I got as I did so." Rowan gestured to the surrounding area, "This used to be a church. I accidentally crushed it to during my tirade."

"Anyway, the next town over heard of me and sent some well-known exorcists to 'banish' me. But they couldn't do it, as their methods were out of date and far too weak to take me down. So they decided to seal me inside the church."

Luffy had grabbed Zoro's hand when Rowan was talking about his blood thirst, clutching it tightly. But now, the captain's curiosity was replacing his irrational fear. Rowan's story was really interesting—scary and terrifying—but interesting all the same. Luffy wanted to know what had happened to the rest of the towns, why was this island here?

"What happened to the rest of your country? This is only an island, where's the rest?" Luffy asked, the curiosity clear in his tone.

Rowan smiled, and he almost seemed friendly for a moment—"Oh, I just ate all the people around my area before the government sent much stronger exorcists than I could handle, and they weakened me, before setting this island off out in the wide open sea. Now then, if you don't mind, I'd like to get on with the ritual. My undead minions will ear your organs and I'll eat the rest. If you try to resist, I'll just have to kill you myself."—never mind being friendly. That was downright scary!! Briefly, the thought of eating something made Luffy think that he may be able to get Zoro to eat something much more satisfying to the captain—Yes, Ace had explained **everything** to him. Needless to say, Smoker wasn't too happy about being an example—but Luffy quickly quenched all thoughts like that, as now was not the time to be thinking such things! He had help in distracting himself as he felt something grab his ankle.

_Na?_

Luffy glanced down to see what it was. Oh, only a hand. The captain went to turn his attention back to the fight, but froze as what had a hold of him sunk in…… A hand….. A hand was holding onto his ankle. He glanced down again, and _Oh my god_, a **head** was following it! Luffy could only think of one thing as he stared at the rapidly approaching scalp: _Oh shit._


	5. Chapter 5

…. Oh well this chapter is late.... Really, very late actually. I apologize from the bottom of my heart for making you all wait so long for this!!! I have excuses, but I'm much too lazy to list them all, besides, who really wants a long author's note? Anywho, I'd like to thank all those that have review, story alerted, favorited etc. They make me bubble with happiness. And yes, this is the final chapter of Haunted Isle. I still can't believe that this whole thing started out as a oneshot, amazing what plot bunnies do to my muse isn't it? And I have a poll for my next story out, and I'd like for you all to vote to see what you would like me to write. You don't get many choices, and I actually made the poll a while ago.... Shows you how lazy I am huh? But I have good news! I can log in on FF now! Yay! I'm debating on whether or not I still want to do a reviewer's reply. Anyway, I hope you enjoy the final chapter of Haunted Isle! And please excuse my grammar and spelling mistakes. (Oh, and there's a scene at the very end that was inspired by Treestar's Coral Reef. I wonder how many people will recognize it?)

**Lectori Salutem: **Yes you are correct, it was the plague! I'm glad you liked the chapter, we'll see if you still feel the same way once you read this one.

**Su-chan: **Ah, Su-chan, it's always good to hear from you! Thank you! I'm happy you got scared (even if that sounds horribly wrong) that was a goal of mine.

**Kira-chan: **Do you mind if I call you that? And here's the next chapter! I guess you'll have to see if they get eaten now ne?

**Sho-A0Y Cupid: **Oh my, you have no idea how happy I am that you reviewed my story Cupid-san! You're quite the good author yourself! I'm sorry I gave you a nightmare, but I'll try to work on making my characters easier to visualize in future chapters.

**Strawhat-alchemist:** You're like me when Luffy is threatened! Ah, the meaning of the universe and life is forty-two.

**Mistress D. Gray-Freak: **Thank you! I'm glad you think it's freaky, I've always wanted such a reaction.

**Saiyura: **Wow, I was just about ready to post this when I got your review. Guess you didn't have to wait too long then ne? I hope you like it!

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--5--

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White bone glittered in the moonlight, the decaying brown skin stretched taunt over the scalp as the thing slowly rose above ground. Luffy stared at it, transfixed. Its eye sockets were black—resembling the darkness of nothing. The only color in the eerie depths was a crimson dot suspended in the middle of the socket. The face had almost no skin, just a thin layer of tissue that had turned leathery from being buried underneath the ground for centuries. The mouth was open, and as worm encrusted soil fell out of the gap, Luffy caught a look at the rotten yellow teeth and bruise colored gums.

A low, guttural moan sounded from the mouth, and a wrinkled tongue rolled around each tooth the monster had. All three of them. Another hand shot from the surface of the clearing, steadying the body as it began to heave itself out of the soil. Luffy grimaced, the sight not very becoming, and promptly power kicked the head clear across the clearing—a noise that could have been a surprised cry echoing in the night—and the hollow thump the skull made as it crashed into a gravestone proved just how empty the undead thing's head was. It stayed there for a moment, juices from the neck providing a large amount suction, before gravity won out and it fell to the ground with a loud squelch.

Meanwhile, the rest of the body had continued to pull itself out of the grave, and was now standing upright, boney hands feeling the stump of the neck where its head use to be. The thing blundered about for a few seconds, before the head let out a surprisingly high-pitched yell and the body moved toward the noise, continually hitting tombstones along the way. Luffy watched it stumble away, gazing at it in wonder.

"What the hell?!" Zoro exclaimed. He too was staring at the body as it tripped over a root and collapsed to the ground, before grasping onto nearby tombstones and pulling itself up and continuing on its quest to find the missing head.

"Ah," Rowan sighed, shaking his head in depression, "They're not very smart. It's a pity really, because I rarely have good company, and the dead just don't carry a conversation well. The only good thing is that they can't die and they do exactly what I say." Rowan paused eying the body as it tripped again, landing only a few feet away from the decapitated head, "I'll have to work on their clumsiness soon."

"What is it?" Luffy questioned.

Rowan gave him a dry look, "I do believe I've already told you what that is."

"Na?"

The monster gave a long suffering sigh, "I'll tell you once more. It is my faithful undead minion."

_Undead? The hell does the freak mean by that? _Zoro denied the fact that the thing could quite possibly be a zombie. But a part of his mind reminded him that nothing was impossible when Luffy was around. Zoro glanced at his captain, seeing the slightly confused expression on his face. Rowan must have noticed as well, for he gave his captain a smile that seemed reserved just for dealing with idiots. "I think you call them zombies."

"EH?!" Luffy cried, eyes wide with disbelief.

Rowan ignored the outburst and said, "You do know that I have more than one minion, correct?"

As he spoke, the soil in front of the surrounding headstones started to move and crumble. More zombies arose from their graves, each one as equally as disgusting as the one before it. With a combined moan, they flowed towards the pair. Zoro and Luffy glanced around them, noticing that they were encircled. Zoro undid his bandana from his arm and quickly wrapped it around his head. Luffy cracked his knuckles and held out his fists. The two stood back-to-back, observing the mass around them.

"Ne, Zoro?" Luffy spoke, never taking his eyes off of the undead bodies surrounding them.

Zoro grunted in acknowledgment, setting Wado in his mouth and unsheathing Kitetsu and Yuubarashi.

"Is it possible to kill a zombie?"

Zoro grinned around the handle of Wado, "Don't know. I guess we'll have to find out, eh captain?"

Luffy's grin matched Zoro's—one ready and eager for a fight, and one that made his heart beat fast. "Yosh!" There was a brief moment of silence, and then they leaped simultaneously into the group of zombies. "Onigiri!" The swordsman quickly slashed bodies in half, separating them at the waistline. He engaged another batch of the undead, listening to Luffy's cries of 'Gomu Gomu no Pistol!' and 'Gomu Gomu no Gatling Gun!'. For some reason the loud bellows were strangely comforting. They let Zoro know that Luffy was still alive. As he prepared for another Onigiri, something grabbed his ankle. Looking down, the swordsman saw that the upper half of one of the bodies he cut. Apparently, they were still able to move even after being sliced in two. Zoro redirected his attack and cut off the arms of the half torso, before continuing to slash his way through his opponents.

"Gomu Gomu no Pistol!" Luffy was having the time of his life! The zombies were fun to fight, each one a little harder to defeat than the one before. He cried out as something bit his leg. Luffy kicked out reflexively and saw another head flying through the air. But the damn things just wouldn't stay down! The rest of the severed body parts on the ground deemed it time to try and bite and gnaw at Luffy, each wanting a taste of young, fresh flesh. Luffy winced as he felt another pair of teeth sink into his calf muscle. Shaking his leg, the captain tried to get the stupid zombie head off, but it was impossible to do so. They just stuck to him like glue, the few but sharp teeth holding on like a clamp.

"Zoro!" Luffy shouted, as a surge of arms and legs tackled him, teeth clamping down on skin and clutching to the bone in his arm. He quickly initiated another attack, but they wouldn't let go!

"Luffy!" Zoro responded, glancing over to see his captain being mauled under a pile of zombies. Worry and anger mixing within his chest, a growl escaped his throat and he rushed over, knocking the bodies back with yet another Onigiri. He heard Luffy cry out in pain and saw a decapitated head biting into his shoulder. The swordsman slashed the skull in half. Luffy grinned at him, "Thanks Zoro!" And then turned his attention back to the fight, anger making his attacks all the more powerful. Zoro decided to stay next to the rubber man, not wanting to let any other bastard zombies take a chomp out of his Luffy.

_His? _The swordsman almost blinked in surprise. Since when was Luffy 'his'? Sure, he loved-

_LOVE?!_

Zoro stopped thinking, the word resounding in his mind. Love. Love. _Love._ It knocked back and forth against his skull, and he twisted the word around in his head. Examining it, analyzing what the four letter word meant, and if he was being honest in his opinion about it. Yet the swordsman came to the same conclusion for every situation he could think of: He loved Luffy. And suddenly the significance of such a bold statement hit Zoro full blast. He loved Luffy! The swordsman quickly hid the stupid grin stretching across his features. His chest exploded with the feeling. And he felt lighter than he had in years. Rapidly coming to a decision Zoro promised himself—before his will wavered—he would tell Luffy he loved him as soon as they got back to the ship. This revelation caused a few other things to click into place as well. It explained the shyness Luffy had exhibited this morning, and all of the stares Zoro caught his captain giving him recently. There was a chance that Luffy might reciprocate his feelings.

Pain flooded his system, and Zoro was yanked back to the fight as a zombie latched itself to his back. Quickly ripping the thing off his skin, Zoro stumbled, narrowly avoiding another undead body. He mentally slapped himself. Zoro could not afford to be distracted; it would cost him everything in a fight. And this fight happened to be particularly important. There was no time to be thinking of his soon-to-be boyfriend (hopefully). Concentrate on the fight. _Concentrate on protecting Luffy_. Zoro's mind supplied, and he repeated the phrase over and over again like a mantra, and soon all else faded away. The noise of the fight, the zombies constantly chewing his skin off, and the feeling of euphoria at realizing he loved the rubber man vanished. It was replaced with the need to fight off every single fucking zombie and make sure Luffy didn't get hurt. And every fiber of his being came alive with the thrill of the fight.

Zoro's swords slashed and hacked through hordes of bodies at an astonishing rate. Limbs flew in all directions. Age old blood and festered human fluids splattered the air like rain drops, reflecting the moonlight and shining with deadly intent. And the zombies that had once overpowered the pair were now rapidly diminished in numbers. The volatile tide was finally turning in their favor.

Rowan frowned to himself as he took in the scene before him. The fight was lasting longer than he had expected, and the midnight hour was soon approaching. Blood red eyes settled on the green haired swordsman. He was fighting particularly hard, and Rowan could clearly see the muscles bulging and straining against the white shirt. The swordsman was quite annoying, constantly interfering with his plans. First, he had saved the boy from his mind eating magic, and the resurrected the boy's faith in his friends. Then he protected him from being mutilated by the zombies and now he was forcing his minions back. Annoying, but relatively entertaining. It was rare that something amused him so much, but the swordsman's body was toned. The sight of it was enough to make his mouth water, as such a fighter would have to have a delicious flesh and meat. Rowan couldn't wait to taste it. And savor it he would, no matter what.

Rowan's eyes surveyed the battlefield again, looking for some sort of weakness from the two boys or something that he could use to regain the advantage in the battle. His gaze landed on the statue of the samurai holding his sword high in victory. A rather nasty grin erupted on his face. Rowan closed his eyes, and breathed deeply through his nose. _Mizuki Haibito, I call you forth from the grave. Do my bidding, be my slave. Your quest is simple, but take precaution. Kill the marimo, now rise from your coffin!_ He watched as the long dead warrior returned to life as his minion as the others had, easily pulling itself out of the ground. The crimson dots looked around, before settling on the green haired swordsman. The samurai started towards the man, katana already drawn. Grinning, Rowan quickly encroached his will upon the zombies, _Slaves! Leave the swordsman alone and concentrate on the rubber man._

The undead bodies obeyed, congregating towards Luffy. _Huh? _Zoro paused in his attack as all of his opponents suddenly turned from him and attacked his captain instead, completely ignoring his presence. Zoro growled, not at all happy about being tossed aside. Just as he was about to unleash his cannon on the bastard zombies, he heard the unmistakable sound of a sword slicing through the air. He blocked the blade with Kitetsu, stopping the katana mere centimeters from his neck. Zoro grunted, and pushed back, unbalancing the other swordsman momentarily. But the katana wielder used the force to draw back into a defensive stance, ready to intercept a counterattack.

Zoro looked closely at his new opponent. It was odd that this zombie had a weapon while none of the others did. Not to mention the fact that most of them had just ignored him in favor of trying to eat Luffy. The thing in front of him was definitely a zombie though, shown by the rather large hole in his chest—undoubtedly the result of a fatal stab wound. Zoro grimaced when a pink worm covered in specs of dirt wiggled around in the eye socket. This caused him to take note of the look on the zombie's face. It was instantly recognizable, because he had seen it many a time on his travels. It was the ferocious stare of one that loved to fight. And things finally fell into place. The samurai in front of him was the one he had admired in the graveyard, before all this shit had happened. It was the statue—or rather, the warrior the statue was made after.

The monster moaned a zombiefied war cry and attacked him. Zoro blocked, and swiped at him from the side. It jumped, letting out another yowl as the katana slashed down on his head. Zoro stepped to the left, in time to feel the air from the blade as it plunged into the ground. The zombie used its momentum to swing around the blade, kicking Zoro in the chest. Zoro fell backwards a few steps and the samurai quickly freed the katana from the earth and slashed up at the first mate. Zoro saw the attack coming and danced around it, cutting the zombie's arm off with Yuubarashi. Now unarmed, the samurai ducked under the second swing of Kitetsu, rolling along the ground and grabbing the severed arm. The zombie stopped in a crotch, facing Zoro, and reattached his arm to his shoulder with a sickening crack. The green haired swordsman stepped back slightly, reassessing his opponent. The zombie was good. Zoro grinned, he would defeat this undead enemy and climb one more step to becoming the greatest swordsman!

Luffy punched the zombie directly in front of him, before pivoting on his right foot and slamming his heel into another coming at him from behind. Dropping down, Luffy swiped his left leg around and tripped the five zombies that had moved in after he had taken down the first two. He sprung up, shouting, "Gomu Gomu no Gatling Gun!" and proceeded to wipe out the rest of the undead bodies that clogged his landing area. Landing softly on the soil, Luffy ground his teeth in frustration. It seemed like all of these damn zombies were attacking him! _Where's Zoro?_ He was worried about his first mate, not because Zoro couldn't take care of himself—Luffy knew his first mate wouldn't be easily defeated—but if Zoro got hurt then it might be harder for the swordsman to escape with him, and there was no way that Luffy was going to leave him behind. If only he could see the tell-tale green hair belonging to his first mate, but Luffy couldn't see much of anything above all of the fleshy scalps of zombies.

A sudden idea made him grin impishly, jumping up in the air once more, Luffy focused on looking around the sea of undead bodies for Zoro, instead of attacking them. He spotted the swordsman fighting a different zombie. Luffy frowned, it looked like this one was stronger than the rest, not to mention the zombie had a katana! As his body started to succumb to gravity, Luffy spun the lower half of his abdomen, stretching his legs out at the same time. He held the position until he was just about the height of the zombie's heads. Then Luffy released the tension in his stomach, causing his legs to whirl around like helicopter blades, mutilating the zombies within his range. As he landed, Luffy took time to assess the damage. More than half of the undead bodies that had surrounded him were now scattered about in pieces on the ground. They didn't stand up or even twitch.

Luffy grinned, now all he had to do was to get rid of the rest of the zombies and then he could go to Zoro! As he went about this task, Luffy contemplated why he needed to see Zoro, and why it felt like he wanted to be protected by the swordsman. He wanted to be held in those strong arms once more, to feel the sense of security wash over him that only came when Zoro was around. And if the swordsman wasn't in sight, then Luffy would go and find him, just because he felt the need to know Zoro was near and okay. It was strange. Luffy was supposed to be the one protecting everybody, he had to be strong. But Zoro had seen him when he was broken, and the swordsman didn't think Luffy any weaker. In fact, those words Zoro had spoken when they had first escaped the clearing helped him understand that the swordsman would never think of Luffy as weak—even in his most vulnerable moments. Once, he had talked to Robin about the feelings, and she told him that he might be experiencing love.

A slight blush rose to his cheeks thinking about it. Did he really love his first mate? And if he did, would Zoro feel the same way? Questions zoomed through his head, each one holding an insecure thought. But Zoro had protected him, kept him strong. It could mean that the swordsman felt the same, but all of the reasoning was getting confusing. Not to mention his thinking had distracted him and made him almost get bit again. Luffy kneed the zombie in the stomach and stopped all of the annoying questions running through his head. He made up his mind. Luffy was going to listen to his heart, let it guide him like he always had. Emotions that Luffy had ignored bubbled up, the butterflies in his stomach when Zoro was around, the way his body would heat up when Zoro touched him, accidentally or purposely. And all of the dreams he kept having of the two of them together.

It all made sense. Maybe it hadn't before because he never really understood it. But now, fighting, with Zoro just a few yards away, like how it was when they first started their journey, Luffy finally realized what all of his feelings meant. _He loved Zoro_. A smile lit his face at the thought, and the rubber man felt all light and dreamy and fluffy, like when Sanji made cake. He was going to confess to Zoro as soon as they made it back to the Merry! A zombie moaned near him, and grabbed Luffy by the shoulders. First, though, Luffy needed to get rid of these damn zombies. The captain flipped his attacker over his shoulder and flung it at his other opponents. Practically bursting with the need to get to Zoro, Luffy began fighting faster, stronger, and more accurately, taking the undead down with a single punch of his fist.

Nothing was going to prevent him from getting to his first mate and telling him he loved him. A sudden loud, "ONIGIRI!" exploded across the battlefield. Two pairs of black eyes met, and Zoro smirked, nodding to Luffy, his eyes conveying a silent message that was easy to understand: Nothing would stop him either.

Rowan growled angrily, his slaves were being defeated, and because it was so close to the witching hour, his power was gone, vanished because of his curse on this island. Not only that, but his spell was wearing off. The zombies weren't regenerating anymore, and he couldn't renew it because the stupid curse signified he had to lose all his magical powers during the half-hour before midnight. But to make up for that slight disadvantage, as soon the moon was directly overhead, not only did Rowan regain his powers, they increased ten-fold. Still, this was his time of weakness, and he couldn't afford the chance that the two might escape.

Zoro preformed one last Onigiri and the samurai zombie fell. This time, he didn't get back up. Zoro panted lightly, damn that fight was hard! He had to have grown stronger from this battle. "**Grah!**" A moan came from behind him as a limbless torso flew past his head and into a gravestone with a sickening splat.

"Zoro!" Luffy pounced on him.

"Hey Luffy."

"How come that zombie you were fighting had a sword?" Luffy asked.

Zoro frowned, "I'm not sure. But he was strong."

"But you had fun right?!" Luffy continued to question, grinning at him.

"Yeah, I did." Zoro smiled slightly, "How 'bout you?"

"I had a lot of fun!" Luffy laughed. Zoro's smile widened just the tiniest bit. He was happy that Luffy was totally back to his old self. Quiet Luffy was scary. But he couldn't help feeling something was off. Zoro felt that he was missing some important information. He stared at the wreckage around them, and a sudden thought had him asking, "Luffy, why didn't the zombies get back up this time?"

Luffy tilted his head to the side, contemplating the question. He finally offered: "They were scared?"

Zoro laughed, "I don't-" A burst of a sticky green substance hit him smack-dab in the chest. Zoro fell into Luffy, and Luffy lost his balance and collapsed against a headstone. They stuck to it.

Rowan appeared in front of them, smirking, "Well now, you seem to be in quite the predicament." The monster ignored the fact that the simple Goo Spell had taken up the last of his reserves of power.

Zoro tried moving his hand, but the green glop prevented pretty much any movement at all. He turned his attention to the figure standing before him, "I would've thought you'd be panicking about now." The swordsman taunted the cursed creature.

Rowan blinked, "Now why would I be panicking?"

"Because we just defeated your army of the undead." Zoro said slowly, a foreboding feeling creeping up through his body as Rowan's posture stayed relaxed.

"Oh, that was frustrating, yes. But it would seem that you're stuck, at the mercy of whatever I decide to do with you." Rowan grinned, the gesture containing nothing but malice. Zoro glanced worriedly at Luffy, how was he going to get them out of this?

"So what are you going to do with us?" Luffy asked, oddly calm. His face serious, making him appear mature, and wise. It was kind of scar; rarely was Luffy so solemn. Zoro blinked, Luffy... Luffy looked fucking _hot_ with his serious face on.

"Well, my range of freedom is limited to this island. Unfortunately for you, tonight is the time that I can be released from this lonely place. As long as I have a blood sacrifice that is." The sinister smile that accompanied the statement clashed drastically with the friendly tone with which it was spoken, "You two will be those sacrifices."

"Why both of us?" Zoro asked, snapping out of admiring Luffy and focusing on the task at hand.

Rowan shrugged, "You're both annoying and nuisances. Somehow I got the feeling that if I let one of you go, that person would just come after me with the intention to kill. I would rather that not happen. Besides, I just don't like you."

Luffy simply stared at him. Rowan looked him in the eye, "Are you not afraid?"

"Nope." Luffy answered.

Rowan continued to stare at the rubber man. Truth was evident in his eyes. The boy really wasn't afraid. This agitated him. He should be scared out of his wits, but he looked like he was sailing a boat, relaxing in the sun. The green haired one appeared much the same, except there was a gleam of suspicion and ferocity in his black eyes that told Rowan he wasn't going to give up hope any time soon.

Suddenly, Rowan wanted to crush that hope. Disintegrate it to nothing and watch if fly away like dust in the wind. He wanted to make sure that it never sprung up again. Yes, breaking their spirits would be marvelous. The look of despair and hopelessness in their eyes as he tortured them, devouring one—making the other watch the bones split and crack, and the way the blood would splatter on the wall like a morbid painting would be a nice change of scenery—and then the other. Rowan would relish each and every taste, emotion, expression. And then, after his feast, he would return to the world as a messenger of death. Once again, would he be able to wreck havoc upon humanity, delighting in his ability to scare anyone. It would be superb, fantastic, _wonderful_! And all Rowan had to do was get rid of these two pesky teenagers. Oh joy, it was perfect!

Luffy knew precisely what he had to do. He needed to get Zoro and himelf back to the ship safely. Exactly _how_ to go about that, he still had yet to figure out. The sticky, icky, green stuff around them was a major problem, and the fact that Rowan was looking more murderous than Nami when he ate her tangerines without permission did nothing to help the situation. _Come on, think. Think!_ He tried to calculate a way to get out of the green goo, but his mind supplied nothing useful.

"Do you remember the last time I spoke to you?" Rowan said, drawing Luffy's attention back to him. The half-rat,-half human was looking right at him. Luffy nodded hesitantly, "Yeah..."

Rowan came right up to his face, dried skin taunt over his jaw, giving the poor boy a marvelous view of his disgusting face, "You remember what I said, correct?"

"Yeah..." Luffy felt his stomach bunch up, a feeling that usually signified something bad was going to happen.

He caught the malicious smile on Rowan's face before it became expressionless. The blood red eyes glinting in the darkness of the night, "And you know everything I said was true."

Luffy's mind stopped working, the finality in the voice his undoing, "N-No it wasn't!"

"Oh yes it was. All of your friends are using you. They don't care about you, they only want to achieve their own goals. And as soon as they do, they'll toss you aside. Just as they dispose of rotten garbage that stinks up their living space."

It was that horrible vision all over again. Except this time, Zoro could see it happening. If Luffy could hear the tremble in his own voice, caused by the fear he was experiencing, his first mate could definitely pick up on it. Zoro would see Luffy doubt his friends. The swordsman shouldn't be exposed to this side of him. Luffy needed to be strong. He needed to prove to Zoro that he could take anything and rebound, becoming the invincible captain he claimed he was.

"Your friends hate you. You're too annoying, too innocent, too naïve, and on top of all that, you're an idiot. What makes you think they would want to follow you?" But damn this was really hard to take.

"Especially your first mate. He hates you the most." A knife of cold steel plunged into his heart. Luffy _knew_ it wasn't true, knew it deep down. But all of his thoughts, senses, were focused entirely on the evil fiend standing before him and the words flowing out of his mouth drowning out what he knew to be real.

"You really didn't think he liked you did you? He's a smart young man, there's no way he would want a simpleton like you to be his captain."

"You're wrong." Luffy whispered, and Zoro heard it. Rowan smirked, and continued talking to Luffy in hushed tones. His sense of direction may be horrible, but his hearing was in perfect working order. Zoro could understand everything the bastard was saying to Luffy. It made his blood boil, and he wanted to rip Rowan's head off, then take Wado and slash his body to little tiny pieces and feed them to a Sea King. The way Luffy looked, almost hopeless, made his heart ache in a very peculiar way. He wanted to replace that look with a smile, a real, Luffy-like smile. Thus, Zoro made a rash decision he hoped he wouldn't regret.

"I bet this swordsman just wants to-" Rowan stopped abruptly. Luffy gaped up on him. There was a big glob of spit on Rowan's human cheek.

"Why you-!" He growled, turning to Zoro, ready to kill him on the spot. But Zoro cut him off, his voice holding unrestrained anger but also sincerity, "Listen ya freak. You don't know anything about me, Luffy, or our nakama. I'll always follow Luffy. He's my captain. I've known that since the first day I met him." Zoro turned to Luffy, "You may be goofy, but you're a great captain, I wouldn't want to serve under anyone else. Luffy, you give everyone you meet hope. The hope to live, or the hope that something great will happen. That's a gift that comes once in a lifetime." He took a deep breath and looked the rubber man in the eye. Vaguely, Zoro noted that he could become a great person for comfort with the amount of practice he had in the last twenty-four hours, "Luffy, I trust you with my life. And I'll do anything to make your dreams come true."

"Zoro..." Luffy whispered, the truth and honesty in the words ringing throughout his being. Looking into his first mate's eyes as he spoke brought a sense of warmth and comfort to him. And that knife that had slowly dug itself deeper and deeper in his heart with every sentence Rowan said, suddenly disappeared. And all at once, Luffy had an epiphany. Well, not an epiphany per say, but it was an idea that could possibly help them escape.

Rowan stood in shock as Zoro made his speech. He watched as the light in the eyes of the rubber boy that had almost vanished return in strength, shining with trust and something else. Rowan looked closer, investigating the unknown gleam. What was that? ...love? Quickly he glanced at the green haired boy, his black irises holding the splendor of warmth, comfort, admiration, and the undeniable twinkle of love. He blinked, the two teens loved each other?

Oh how _wonderful!_ That would make the pain in their eyes that much greater as he annihilated one then the other. One watching his love writhe in pain before sharing the same fate. He didn't notice the rubber boy inhale deeply. He did notice however, when he shouted, "Gomu Gomu no Balloon!"

The boy's body expanded, making the goo, which had became hard and brittle, weakening as the midnight hour approached, stretch, trying to keeps its captives. But soon the strain became too much and it shattered, letting the two collapse to the ground, neither ready for the sudden drop.

"Ugh..." Zoro rubbed his head, but Luffy grabbed his hand and ran. Rowan stared in shock for a moment, but then gave a low growl and started after the two like a predator would to prey.

Luffy hid behind a wall, with Zoro right next to him, breathing heavily. "Luffy, do you know where to go?"

"No idea."

The bricks just to the right of them exploded outwards, spraying dust and debris into the air. Rowan stood in the hole, eyes narrowed, teeth bared. His sores were oozing, and the maggots in his cheek were being squeezed out in frustration. He turned to the two, and growled again, lunging at them.

"RUN!" Luffy yelled, and they ran. Barley avoiding the creature's talons, they sprinted away, only thinking about escaping the horrible creation. The two of them zigzagged, weaved, and threaded themselves through the ruins, stumbling over pieces of severed limbs and fallen gravestones. Rowan was mere feet behind them the whole time, clawing at any loose fiber of clothing and snarling furiously in anger. Had they stopped to think, the pair might've noticed that the burning flare of anger was the only emotion the monster had showed throughout the entire night.

Zoro winced as a talon like fingernail scraped against his neck. _Damn_ those things were sharp. How had he forgotten about them? Luffy turned to look back, wanting to know just how close Rowan was to them, but Zoro stopped him, "Don't," He panted, "look back."

Rowan growled lowly, anger fueling his legs to go faster. He raised his hand and swiped at the pair, smiling in delight when he tore a small piece of cloth from the rubber man's shirt. Midnight was only a few minutes away, he needed to kill them now! If they escaped from the clearing then it would be unnecessarily difficult to find them again. Rowan may know the island like the back of his hand, but the blanket of night draped from one end of the island to the other, covering everything in between in darkness. Besides, he had to kill the two on the alter, and it was going to be rather troublesome to bring them back to the church. The deadweight of two bodies are surprisingly heavy.

"Zoro, look!" Luffy pointed ahead of them. In the distance, Zoro could make out the faint outline of the two foreboding walls that marked the entrance to the clearing. From what he could see, they still looked the same, but instead of keeping something in, the walls were now an escape route—freedom from the accursed ruins. The pirates pumped their legs faster as they neared the walls, each desperate to get away from the thing hunting them down. Rowan kept up with them, spewing every curse word he knew at them. Midnight was only seconds away now.

Zoro and Luffy flew past the small entrance—or rather exit—in between the two tall walls. Luffy turned to look behind them. Rowan flew straight at them, talons outstretched.

Just as a look of triumph swept over Rowan's face, he stopped suddenly in midair, like he slammed into an invisible barrier. His sores oozed and gushed nastiness from the unexpected collision. "Neehee..." Luffy grinned, and stuck his tongue out at Rowan while pulling his eyelid down. Rowan glowered at them, then smiled easily. His power was returning to him, he could feel every pore in his being vibrating with the effort to contain it, to stay in control of such power.

Somewhere in the distance, an owl hooted twelve times. Midnight had arrived.

"Luffy..." Zoro's voice broke the silence, the urge to get away remaining unspoken. That evil smirk Rowan was sporting didn't settle right in his stomach. And with the way things had been going lately, he simply couldn't chock the feeling up to being paranoid. Rowan practical glided toward them. As he reached the gap between the walls he slowed, and struggled against an unseen restraint, one that hoped to keep the evil at bay. Alas, it was not meant to be! Rowan broke free of the transparent skeletal hands clinging to him, and smirked slightly as he watched them crumble to dust—must like the ruins themselves. The spell over the walls was getting weaker each time this hour came.

Everything was quiet for a moment. Luffy and Zoro stood shell-shocked while Rowan loomed above them, a smug air about him. He stared at the pair, the lust for human flesh gleaming in his blood red eyes. He stalked forward, almost like a predator. Hell, he _was_ a predator! And nothing would keep him from his delectable prey. With a growl that made every creature on the island scamper away, Rowan leaped at the pirates.

Said pirates snapped out of their shocked trance and ran for their lives once again. Branches screamed past, and leaves of all shapes and sizes were left spiraling despairingly to the ground in the stillness that plagued the island. Rowan howled, an animalistic sound that sent a small spark a fear alight in Zoro's chest. The noise was low and guttural, still holding the capability of laughing, mocking the pair. Rowan called upon his minions in a massive necromancer spell, and they rose against their will, before moving quicker than their snapped and old ligaments would allow. Limbs ripped off, and bodies were trampled as a mad dash toward their creator started.

Zoro gulped air into his burning lungs, eyes racking the thick foliage for anything. Anything at all that would indicate a break in the forest. Vines and branches from weeping willows smacked his face in a violent caress. Tall grass tangled in his legs, and he frequently muttered curses under his breath. And Zoro couldn't help but look back, even as his survival instincts screamed at him to keep running, to concentrate on getting out of the forest, to stay alive.

He instantly regretted ignoring them. Rowan was only yards behind him and Luffy, looking like the reincarnation of the evilest, most vile being on the Grand Line. A look so vicious smeared across his scabbed face that even the devil itself would turn away in shame. Crimson eyes clearly conveyed the unmistakable shimmer of blood lust that practically screamed how Rowan would rip them to pieces before enjoying a feast. Around the monster were zombies, mouths agape, saliva stretching from bruised gum to bruised gum, the red dots in the middle of their dark void eyes were wide and unseeing. They stumbled along with their master, reaching out for the two of them, hideously fascinating. Zoro cringed as one zombie ran directly into a rather large, thick hanging oak branch, the top half of its body flying off—arms flailing—and landed in the path of two other undead beings. They stumbled over the arms, falling to the ground. Their own bodies being torn apart as the others stampeded over them.

The lower half of the zombie was still chasing after Zoro and Luffy, and the swordsman could see the broken spine, vertebrae glistening with coagulated blood. The small intestines were jumping and floating about the corpse, painting the zombies around it with the rank blood.

"Zoro, hurry!" Luffy cried.

The swordsman hadn't realized how much he had slowed down while observing the absolutely revolting scene behind the pair. Now, Zoro picked up the pace, joining Luffy as fear made their legs pump faster than ever before. Moonlight filtered through the tree branches above them, illuminating the pathway in a brilliant white haze.

"The beach!" Zoro panted, pointing ahead of them. Between the thick dark green leaves and wild bushes the swordsman could just make out the crystals of pale sand shimmering in the night and he detected the unmistakable smell of salt water in the air. A grin slowly started to turn the corners of his mouth upright. They were almost back to the Merry! Even he would admit missing the others a little—not the crap-cook of course-.

"You won't get away!" Rowan roared behind them, interrupting Zoro's train of thought. The green haired man frowned, glancing around at the area to see exactly how likely it was that they would get caught before the hit the beach. The results of the search were grim: nothing but huge ass trees, leaves, and thick, thorny vines, it would be easy to catch them here. He couldn't really make a trap or something to stall the mass chasing them, there was no time. Zoro and Luffy turned on a path that was surrounded by giant oak, pine, and red trees. Zoro's brow furrowed, _Wait a minute._ He looked closer at nature's massive trees. A grin lit his face as the first mate experienced something that was extremely rare in occurrence: an epiphany.

Zoro turned his head slightly to shout back at Rowan, "Yes we will ugly-shit!" before unsheathing Wado, eyes raking over each tree before the pair passed them. He could practically feel holes burning in his back from the monster's furious glare. _There!_ As soon as he and Luffy were abroad the tall pine tree, he easily sliced through the dark, flaking bark. Zoro took small satisfaction in the fact that this particular tree had been one of the sticky ones that he had gotten stuck to before this whole fiasco started.

"Timber!" The swordsman's shout reverberated through the air, and the ancient tree creaked and groaned in protest before falling across the pathway behind them with a mighty crash that echoed in the forest several seconds after the tree itself fell. Soon after wards, the crash was accompanied by the sound of hundreds of thuds and an unsettling amount of squelches as the zombies impaled themselves on the sap covered branches sticking out from the tree. The noises continued for a few moments, the undead bodies still trying to chase after the pair.

Another blood-curdling howl erupted amongst all the chaos, and Rowan flew above the blockade, coming at the two men quicker than before. "Dammit." Zoro muttered as he saw the monster clear the wreckage gracefully.

"Faster, Zoro, faster!" Luffy's voice panted in his ear directly next to him. The swordsman didn't dwell on what such a statement could imply, instead focusing on increasing his speed to the maximum limit. Alas, it wasn't enough, because Rowan was gaining on them, trailing behind by mere seconds now. Luffy and Zoro stepped on the soft, shifting grains of sand as Rowan reached out to grab them, claws clinging to the fabric of the pirate's shirts. The monster would have gotten them too, but just as he was retracting his arm to claim his prize, Rowan's entire body was flung away, repelled back an invisible force.

"What?!" Rowan shouted, voice portraying his disbelief. His prey had been so close, oh so close, he had them! What the hell had just happened?! Rowan got up and tried to go after the pair again, but was met with the same result as before. Luffy—who had stopped to look behind him—grinned, "Neehee, guess we're the prey that got away, eh Freak?" He stuck his tongue out, a repeat of what occurred at the graveyard. Zoro grabbed his captain by the back his shirt, dragging him away, "Didn't you learn your lesson Luffy?"

"Na?" the rubber man glanced back, right as Rowan gave another frightening roar and lunged at the two. Luffy jumped, and started running like a mad-man, dragging Zoro, intent on getting back to the Merry. But whatever was guarding them held, and Rowan pounded against it furiously, beating the shield with his bare hands. He snarled, stoic appearance gone. More low, guttural growls, howls and roars escaping Rowan's throat as he watched his meal—and ticket to freedom—disappear. A feeling of despair engulfed him, the sadness overwhelming his dead heart. It seemed like Rowan wasn't going to be free just yet. Blood red eyes closed, and a depressed sigh resounded softly in the atmosphere. Turning around, the monster started back to his prison.

* * *

"I don't think this one is going to give away." Zoro commented, the pair already a good deal away from the forest. Luffy paid no attention to him and kept jogging towards the Merry. This time, he didn't look back. The two came to a complete stop in the shadow of the ship, staring up at the wooden figure. They were finally back.

Zoro's obsidian eyes alighted on the silhouette that stood against the railing. He resisted the urge to grin as the figure leaned over the edge and became bathed in moonlight. It was Nami, and while he wasn't looking forward to getting smacked over the head, seeing the navigator meant that this wasn't another one of Rowan's illusions. It was real.

"Luffy! Zoro!" Nami shouted, waving down at the two.

"Hey Nami!" Luffy responded, enthusiastically waving both arms over his head.

"Hold on, I'll lower the ladder!" Nami disappeared and the rope ladder they used to get on and off the ship rolled down the side soon after wards. They climbed up it, and as soon as their feet were safely planted on the familiar deck, Nami punched them both in the back of their heads.

"Ow, dammit woman!"

"Owwww!" Luffy and Zoro cried simultaneously. Zoro glared at the red head. Stupid witch! He didn't need anything else to ache! But one look at her eyes showed exactly how worried she was, the fear prominent in the brown irises, and Zoro decided not to pursue the matter, instead huffing while crossing his arms across his chest and refusing to look at Nami in retaliation.

"You two have no idea how worried we were!'"

"Sorry Nami." Luffy apologized, still holding the bump on his head. Zoro merely grunted—his own special way of saying 'sorry'.... Or that he didn't care one way or the other. More likely it meant the latter. She sighed, "It's alright, we'll talk about it in the morning with the rest of the crew. Go get some sleep."

"Speaking of the crew," Zoro said, "Where is everyone else?"

"Sleeping. I sent them to bed a while ago." Nami answered. She turned around, ready to head to her cabin, too tired to try and reason with two of the biggest idiots in the world. "Why didn't you go?" Luffy asked suddenly. Nami stopped, and glanced at him over her shoulder, "I was worried." She continued down to the inner workings of the Merry Go, leaving with a, "Oh, and I set the ship's wheel in the direction of the next island. All you have to do is raise the anchor and we'll be off. We've lost too much time already, so we'll sail through the night. You two will take first watch. Wake Sanji for the second." And then she was gone.

The two stood in silence for a moment, before Zoro headed over to the anchor and heaved it up from the sea bed, securing the metal in its place on the side of the hull. He heard Luffy murmur, "She was really worried about us."

"I bet they all were. I'm sure that if Nami hadn't made them go to bed, they would've been up here with her." Zoro told him, resuming his stance next to his captain.

"Yeah...." Came Luffy's response in that same quiet voice. Zoro sighed inaudibly, that tone was far too much like the one Luffy had used when he was talking about his nightmare earlier. Smiling slightly, he reached up and ruffled the teen's hair reassuringly, "You sure know how to pick nakama Captain, they care for you a lot."

Luffy look up at him and smiled that soft smile that made Zoro's heart flutter, making it feel as if it would burst out of his chest. It didn't help that Luffy's eyes glowed with happiness. And it was then—staring down at his captain's remarkable face, his wide, gleaming eyes staring back at him with the soft moonlight gently illuminating his captain's skin —that the swordsman remembered the promise he had made himself in the heat of battle. He found that his mouth wouldn't work and his courage had diminished rapidly. Zoro's mind was blank, filled to the brim with the scent, smell, and sight of Luffy.

Suddenly, that wasn't enough. Zoro wanted to taste the teen, to kiss the full lips shinning like beacons in the night. He wanted to touch Luffy, to wrap his arms around the lithe muscular body. The urge to do so overwhelmed the swordsman, flooding every pore of his being until it reached the point were it started to _hurt_ if Zoro couldn't take Luffy's face in his hands and kiss him, hold him flush against his body. The strength that had roared its assent to the vow was practically gone. As the tide slowly pulled Merry out to sea, Zoro wondered if he really could tell Luffy about the promise. Why was it suddenly so difficult? Zoro was sure he loved Luffy, and he should tell the rubber man, right? Then why did the words die in his throat when he tried to voice them?

Luffy stared at his first mate, sensing the conflict he was going through. He frowned, he liked helping his crew with their problems; it was his job as captain after all. But Zoro had never confided much to him, and Luffy could tell that whatever was affecting the swordsman now was different than anything else Zoro had dealt with. Luffy kept his gaze locked on Zoro's black eyes, noticing the way they darted to and fro in frustration, the downward tilt of his first mate's lips showing his growing displeasure. Luffy stared into Zoro's eyes, and his innocent way of seeing the emotions of his crew showed him something that wouldn't have been apparent if the swordsman's guard had been up. Luffy's heart jumped before making the blood hammer in his ears. He suddenly knew what was bothering the green haired man.

Zoro growled softly to himself at his incompetence. Why the hell was he acting like a fucking woman and not meeting the challenge head on?! Zoro never went back on his word, so what was stopping him now? _Rejection_. A little voice in the back of his mind whispered, _You're afraid to show your emotions. _Okay, he could see the reasoning in that. Zoro wasn't one to openly expose himself to anyone, he normally kept his feelings to himself and tucked safely away were they wouldn't cause any headaches. Frowning at the thought, Zoro tried to bring down the mental barrier preventing him from speaking to Luffy. Dammit, how the fuck was he going to-

Zoro felt something warm brush his lips, and all thoughts stopped abruptly. He blinked, looking down at Luffy's straw hat, on account that the rubber man was staring pointedly at his chest. "Luffy-"

"I don't like making my nakama worry." Luffy interrupted him, "Especially the one that loves me most."

Zoro's mind froze, Luffy knew? How the hell had he found out? Then he blinked once more, remembering the feel of something soft caress his lips.... Had Luffy really-?.... Zoro smiled, bringing the hand that had been ruffling the teen's hair down to rub his hand against Luffy's cheek. He brought a calloused thumb over the bridge of his captain's nose before cupping Luffy's chin and raising the straw hat covered head to look him in the eye.

Luffy's heart pounded against his chest at the sight of the soft smile on Zoro's lips. He raised his eyes to meet Zoro's own and his breath hitched, heart skipping beats as he got lost in the warm black depths. A bright blush colored his face as Zoro leaned down and nuzzled his nose against Luffy's, and murmured, "I'm glad.", before moving down to claim Luffy's lips with his own in a gentle kiss.

Luffy smiled as they pulled apart, eyes sparkling in delight, "Me too." The whisper drifted with the wind, and Zoro chuckled lightly, the sound coming from deep in his chest and swooped to meet Luffy's lips in a passionate kiss that the rubber man eagerly responded to, wrapping his arms around his first mate's neck. Zoro brought his tan arms across Luffy's waist, pulling him in to deepen the kiss before slowly pulling back, nipping at the rubber man's bottom lip as he did so. Zoro buried his head in the crook of Luffy's shoulder and breathed in deeply, his captain's scent overwhelming him. Luffy was content to let him stay there, to forget all about what had transpired that day and simply bask in the glow of a new found love.

And as the Merry sailed further and further away from the island where nightmares became reality and fear was the reining emotion, it shimmered and vanished, forever condemned to be forgotten.


End file.
